


Dreaming of a Butterfly

by DeadMansQuestions



Category: Persona Series, Persona | Revelations Persona, Shin Megami Tensei Series
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Childhood Trauma, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Depression, Escapism, Novelization, Persona 1 Spoilers, References to Future Persona Games, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26064736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadMansQuestions/pseuds/DeadMansQuestions
Summary: A novelisation of the first Persona game, with elements from the Drama CD and the manga adaptation. It was 1996, in the city of Mikage-Cho. A group of high-school students play a mysterious game known as the Persona game on a whim. Little did any of them know that this would mark the start of their adventures: a journey involving monsters, demons, and a mysterious conspiracy.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 15





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Brown's suggestion, Naoya and his friends decide to play a mysterious game as a bet. However, they all got something more than they could hope to bargain for.

_Once, I dreamt I was a butterfly._   
_I forgot myself and knew only my happiness as a butterfly._   
_Soon, I awoke, and I was myself again._   
_Did I dream that I was a butterfly?_   
_Or do I now dream that I am a man?_   
_Yet there is a distinction between myself and the butterfly._   
_This is the transformation of the physical._

_\-- Zhuangzi_

* * *

~.~

Naoya Todou fought the urge to yawn as he gathered a bundle of handmade origami flowers, pasting them on the plastic signboard. The school was preparing for the upcoming cultural festival, and each class began working on their projects and booths once school had ended.

Once he finished pasting the last flower, he unconsciously played with the earring on his right ear, a simple hooped design made of a plain stainless steel. It had been a common habit of his; sometimes he would end up playing with it without even realising it. He remembered the time Yuka chided him during class for always fiddling with it, saying that it’ll get infected. Of course, Naoya paid it no mind. He had done it for years, and his ear was still the same as always.

“Thanks a lot, Nanjo.” He heard his friend Mark grumble, shaking the can of spray paint in his hands before spraying it into the cardboard cutout. “Because of you, Nishida-sensei gave us an extra report to do as an assignment!”

“Hmph.” The bespectacled boy simply let out an indignant snort in response as he simply continued helping Naoya decorate the signboard. “All I did was speak the truth. If someone is to blame, it should be Nishida’s incompetence as a teacher.”

Pushing up his spectacles condescendingly as he gave a shrug, Nanjo continued. “Then again, I’d doubt that an ape like a certain somebody could ever hope to understand.”

Mark looked ready to explode. “Why you—!” he started.

“That’s enough, both of you!” A female voice, authoritative in tone, barked out, stopping Mark before he could try to retaliate.

Yukino had gotten up from her seat where she had been helping Yuka cut out an origami paper chain. She stalked up to the bickering duo, placing her hands to her hips as she glared at them. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve got work to do! I’ve still got my part-time job this evening!”

“Come to think of it, Yukino… This is pretty rare for you to stick around after school.” Naoya said.

Yukino simply shrugged. “Saeko-sensei asked that I ought to help out as well. It can’t be helped.”

“ _My_ …” A soothing feminine voice spoke up. “Yukino-san. You must be really fond of Saeko-sensei, aren’t you?” Elly said, shuffling through some paperwork.

Upon hearing Elly’s comment, Yukino’s cheeks turned a rosy hue as she chuckled nervously. “W-Well, of course! After all, the only decent adults here are Saeko-sensei and Principal Ooishi, right?!”

“Well, I’m done.” Yuka let out a yawn as she set down the scissors, stretching out her arms in relief.

“Yuka, what’s this?” Yukino frowned as she examined the girl’s craftwork. That is, if one could even call it that. It was nothing more than a bunch of deformed shapes that aren’t even remotely shaped like people. Shredded paper was scattered all over the desk and floor.

Yuka pouted. “Hey, don’t blame me for this! It’s not my fault that it’s so hard to cut these things out!”

Giving an unimpressed look, Yukino picked up Yuka’s work with her finger and thumb as if she was picking up a dirty sock. “I already traced it out. All you need to do is to follow the lines.”

“Whatever. I’ve done all I could.” The pig-tailed girl simply responded with a huff in annoyance, getting up from her seat and walked away to look at the rest of the booths. Yukino sighed as she went to clean up Yuka’s mess.

Approaching Mark, Yuka looked over his shoulder to look at his work. “Hey, Mark. Your signboard’s pretty good.” She said.

“Thanks, Yuka-chan.” Mark gave a proud smirk. His face then softened as he looked at his work. “Y’know, I’ve thought about doing this kind of stuff for a living. But it’s not like we know what’s gonna happen in the future…”

Yuka shrugged, putting her hands behind her head. “If you ask me, I’d rather be better off not knowing about my future. I mean, why stress over living a boring life as an adult when we still have plenty of time to live in the moment?”

Their conversation was quickly cut short by another student pouncing on Mark’s back, causing him to let out a startled yell. The student had a messy mop of brown hair, propped up by a large pair of goggles he wore on his forehead. 

“Hey! For that sort of thing, leave it to good ol’ Brown!” The goggle-headed student declared with a cocky grin on his face, pulling Mark’s oversized beanie over his eyes.

“Brown! get the hell off me, you bastard!” Mark flailed about as he managed to wrest himself free from goggle-head.

Brown, the residential class clown, smirked. “I can’t help but overhear your little conundrum, Mark. Have you by any chance heard of the Persona game?

“The Persona game?” Mark asked quizzically, adjusting his beanie.

“Oh, I have heard about it.” Elly chimed in. “It’s become a really popular game in school. There are _rumours_ that if you play the Persona game, you might have the opportunity to have a fortune-telling session with Persona. You might be able to see your future.”

Elly paused as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. “At least…that’s what I’ve heard.”

Mark let out a snort and looked at Brown, unconvinced. “Dude, if that really worked and I could see my future, I’d be on easy street. You sure your brain ain’t rotting, Hidehiko?”

Brown chuckled, his chest puffing out in confidence. “Hehehe… Trust me, there’s more to it than a simple rumour. Maybe you can’t see your future, but they say that weird stuff does happen!”

“And I’d say it’s a load of crock!”

Brown leaned forward so that he’s on the same eye level as Mark. “Oh really? Yuka-chan and I have already played the game before, so I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is. That is, if you are, Mark.”

Mark grinned, leaning forward as well. “All right, you’re on! I’ll bet you an all-you-can-eat dinner at Peace Diner! If you lose, it’s your treat!”

“You’re on!”

Yuka chirped. “Then I’m betting on Uesugi!”

“I’ll _wager_ on Brown as well.” Elly said.

“Wait, seriously!?” Mark sweat dropped. He turned to Nanjo and Yukino, pleadingly looking at them, hoping they would bet on him.

The Nanjo heir looked away dismissively. “Hmph…This silly wager is none of my concern. You all can do as you please.”

Yukino shrugged. “Same here. You’re on your own, Mark.”

Mark grumbled as the two literally turned their backs on him. “You two are so cold…! Come on, guys! Back me up here!”

Naoya chuckled and decided to throw his friend a bone. “Relax. I’ll bet on you.” He placed a reassuring hand on Mark’s shoulder, giving him a confident grin. “After all, one-sided bets are boring, right?”

“Thanks, man.” Mark smiled gratefully.

Brown soon explained the details of the Persona Game, drawing out the steps of the game crudely on the chalkboard. They cleared away the decorations and pushed aside the chairs and desks, leaving an open space in the middle of the classroom.

Naoya stood at the centre alongside with Yukino and Nanjo, with their backs faced one another as they stood in a triangular formation. The rest took their positions at each corner of the classroom.

“Alright!” Brown clapped his hands, rubbing them with glee. “Yuka-chan, let’s go!”

Yuka took in a deep breath before starting the incantation. “Persona! Persona! Please come here!” She chanted, slowly walking away to Brown.

“My turn!” Brown grinned as he stepped forward, allowing Yuka to take his place. “Persona! Persona! Come here!” With confident strides, he reached where Mark was standing.

Mark grumbled under his breath. “Man, why do I gotta do this?”

Brown roughly patted Mark’s shoulder, giving him annoyed huff. “Quit your bellyaching, Mark! All-you-can-eat! All-you-can-eat!” He chanted.

“Alright, just shut up already… Persona. Persona. C’mere, I guess…” Mark mumbled, shuffling his way towards Elly.

“ _Well then_...” Elly said as she closed her eyes. “Persona, Persona. Please come to us!” she exclaimed dramatically, and she waltzed her way to the remaining corner of the class.

Once Elly had reached the other side of the classroom, Brown clapped his hands. His body bobbed up and down in anticipation. “Alright, here it comes!”

And then there was silence.

Brown looked confused. He stared up into the ceiling, arms stretched out as if he was some shaman trying to call forth the gods. “Anytime now!”

Silence.

A bead of sweat trickled down Brown’s forehead through his signature goggles. “Something should happen right about now…!”

Absolute silence…

“I-I don’t understand…” Brown blurted out. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

Mark hollered in triumph, pumping a fist into the air. “Hell yeah! All-you-can-eat, here I come!”

Yukino simply let out another exasperated sigh. “There, happy now? Now hurry up and get Saeko-sensei and tell her we’re done.”

Fuming, Yuka stormed over to Brown. “Uesugi!” she snapped, grabbing the poor sap by his undershirt and looked ready to throttle him. “You’ve made me look like an idiot, you jackass!”

Brown squeaked as he faced the full brunt of Yuka’s wrath, futilely trying to pry himself free from Yuka’s vice grip. “Hey, not fair!” he weakly protested as he pointed an accusatory finger at Mark. “I call a do-over! Mark probably screwed it up! C’mon, you gotta take it seriously when you do it!”

Mark let out a snort. “Oi, you little…! Don’t be a sore loser!”

While the two began arguing, Naoya glanced at Nanjo, half-expecting for the Nanjo heir to interject with one of his usual pretentious remarks. But instead he saw him just standing there, frozen on the spot with his mouth agape, his eyes looking ready to pop out of their sockets.

“Wh-What is…?” Nanjo managed to stutter out.

Mark apparently noticed Nanjo’s shocked expression as well, for he broke off from his argument with Brown to focus on Nanjo instead. “Huh? It’s too late now to ask—” he said as he turned around to see what Nanjo was gaping at, only to stumble back as he let out a startled cry.

Everyone else turned to look, and there they saw a small girl dressed in white standing there with her back turned away from them. Her brown hair was unkempt and reached her tiny shoulders, a red ribbon perched on top of her head. But what was most peculiar about the girl was that she

“S-See! What did I tell you?” Brown exclaimed, though his voice immediately broke into a nervous murmur. “I mean… it’s different from how I experienced it but –”

“My goodness!” Elly clapped her hands together. “To think that I would see a _spectre_ with my very eyes!” Her eyes glimmered with excitement that Naoya had never seen in her before.

The girl in white slowly turned around to face them. Revealing her face, the girl was almost doll-like in appearance. Her skin was porcelain white, her eyes proportionately large as compared to the rest of her face. In her arms was a stuffed teddy bear, almost as large as the girl holding it.

Despite her ghostly appearance, Naoya cannot help but feel something nagging at the back of his mind. That this girl looked familiar, as if he had met her before… And if that’s so, then when?

“Help me.” The little girl sniffled.

_Wait… Was she… crying?_

The sniffs became louder. “Please, help me…” The girl spoke again, one of her delicate hands began rubbing at her eyes to wipe away the tears that were starting to trickle down her porcelain cheeks.

But before Naoya could even respond to the mysterious girl, the lights began to flicker. Immediately afterwards, the entire classroom was rocked by a violent tremor, causing nearby objects to topple over.

The ceiling crackled with bright blue electricity. The lights flickered even more rapidly than before, followed by a brilliant flash of light, prompting everyone to shield their eyes. Then suddenly, they heard a terrific bang, as if a gun had just been fired.

“Eek! What the hell is this!?” Yuka shrieked in fright, ducking her head down as several bolts of lightning appeared.

“Holy shit!” Mark stumbled backwards, narrowly dodging a bolt of lightning that struck the spot where he had just stood on. But Yukino was not as lucky. One of the lightning bolts struck the back of her head, and she collapsed.

“Yukino!” Nanjo cried out. He attempted to rush to her unconscious form, but he was immediately hit by another bolt and his body helplessly tumbled to the floor.

Mark too was soon struck down seconds later. But before Naoya could even react, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, causing him to let out a cry of pain. His body lost the strength to stand, and he collapsed as well.

“Naoya-kun? Naoya-kun!” Naoya could hear a voice calling out to him. He wasn’t sure who it was though. It sounded like one of the girls. Yuka? Elly? He wasn’t sure. But it didn’t matter, for the voice soon faded away and the darkness took over.

* * *

~.~

Naoya felt as if he was falling for an eternity.

It felt like one of those dreams he would hear of in those TV dramas, where the person keeps falling, flailing helplessly as they spiralled down the rabbit hole, with no hope of reaching the bottom.

He saw a vortex of a spiralling staircase, in the shape of a square. Surrounding him was an endless loop of cogs… and shapes that resembled skyscrapers. But what was most peculiar, believe it or not, was the golden butterfly fluttering right before his eyes, its beautiful glow illuminating in the darkness.

And suddenly, there was a flash that engulfed him, pure and bright as the light of the sun itself.

Naoya was on the ground, a black and white tiled floor.

On instinct, he immediately stumbled back up to his feet. He regained his balance and breathed, slowly taking in his surroundings. He was in a blue void, as vast and empty as the depths of space. He stood on what seemed to be a platform, with six towering pillars made of gold that encircled him. The atmosphere was eerily calm; so silent that he could not even hear the sound of a single breeze.

And there he saw, right in front of him, a tall lone figure. _When did he…!_ A panicked thought began racing through Naoya’s mind, for he knew that the figure wasn’t there a split second ago.

It wasn’t the Girl in White that he saw in the classroom. No. It was a man this time. He was dressed in a white suit, whose coat reached past his knees. Underneath his suit was a shirt and tie, both black which contrasted with the colours of his suit. He had jet-black hair that was tied up in a loose ponytail, which in spite of the fact that there was not a single breeze, flowed freely in the air. But the most peculiar feature was the mask that completely obscured his face. It was as white like his suit; an intricate pattern the colour of violet, resembling the wings of a butterfly, decorated the right side of the mask. As Naoya looked closer, he could not see any pupils beneath the mask’s eyeholes, which made him look even more unsettling.

The man gave a crisp bow before speaking. “Welcome. It is a pleasure to meet you.” His voice was deep timbre, yet at the same time there was a soothing feeling to it. “I am Philemon: a dweller in the rift between consciousness and unconsciousness of all souls. And now… a simple test: can you state your name?”

“My…name?” Naoya murmured. He rubbed at his eyes, hoping that this was just a dream. But he gave his answer, nonetheless. “Naoya… Naoya Todou.”

Even though Naoya couldn’t see his face through the mask, he could tell that the being... Philemon, he called himself, was satisfied with his answer for he immediately nodded his head. “Splendid,” he spoke, “there aren’t many who can remember their identity when in this domain. It seems you passed that test.”

_Test…? For what?_

But before Naoya could say a word, Philemon spoke once more, pointing at him. “But tell me this. Are you aware of the many varied souls that you harbour…within you? The self effused with divine love. The self capable of demonic cruelty.” He then pointed to his own mask. “People live by wearing different masks. Your current self may be one among those innumerable masks.”

“You though, have a very firm grip on your identity.” Philemon raised a hand and with a flick of his wrist, something glowing appeared in the palm of his hand. It was a strange blue humanoid figure in a crouching position.

Naoya could barely breath and involuntarily took a step back. Whatever Philemon had summoned, he could feel it resonate with something within him, as if there was a connection between them.

“I respect your strong will. And in return, I grant you this power: Persona. It is the power to summon the selves within you. The gods and demons you harbour.”

Naoya shook his head, trying his best to rearrange his thoughts accommodate everything that Philemon had just said. _Consciousness and unconsciousness, Personas, gods and demons_ … To him, it all seemed like mumbo jumbo. Yet at the same time, part of him was inclined to believe what he had just said.

Philemon flicked his wrist again, and the figure dissipated into golden light. “There will come a time where you will need this power. But now, you must return, to your proper time and place.”

“Wait!” Naoya managed to cry out. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand!”

Naoya only blinked for an instant, and saw Philemon standing up close, just a few inches away from him. Philemon reached out his hand and gave Naoya a gentle push.

And suddenly, Naoya felt himself being flung by a great force, as if he was carried away by a hurricane. His body careened over the edge of the platform, and he was plummeting into endless blue void below. Naoya tried to scream out, but nothing came out. He desperately flailed his arms, but there was nothing to grab on to.

As the darkness enveloped him, the last thing he saw was Philemon’s mask before him. His voice called to him.

_“I am thou. Thou art I… I will always be watching you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, how to challenge yourself as a FanFic writer? How about you write your first big multi-chapter story for realsies? No? How about making it your first big novelisation project? No? How about making it about a game that is at best a cult classic and at worst an obscurity because even fans of the franchise are turned off by because of its aged gameplay? And the kicker? Why don't I do it just around the start my second year of University? What could possibly go wrong?
> 
> In all seriousness, I felt like the first Persona game was an underrated classic. While its gameplay was certainly a product of its time, I grew attached to the story and its characters instead. And with no hopes of a potential remake in sight, I felt like this could be the best way for me to show my appreciation towards this game.
> 
> For those who are familiar with the first Persona game, though, you'll probably find me treading on a lot of familiar ground. However, not only will I be simply recapping the events of the game, but I will be incorporating both the SEBEC and Snow Queen storylines together because Persona 2 implies that both events took place. Of course, I would be adding my own twists of certain parts of the story as well.
> 
> My main sources/inspirations would be the game itself, the manga adaptation by Shinshu Ueda (a recommended read), and of course the Persona Drama CDs. Feedback is welcome, so feel free to post your reviews!
> 
> PS: I'll probably emphasise this in later chapters as well, but for Elly, italics will be used in her dialogues whenever she'll speak an English word. The problem is that I'll do the same thing with the characters' thoughts.


	2. An Ordinary Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their encounter with Philemon, the gang decide to pay a visit to an old friend.

As he began to stir, Naoya heard voices around him.

_“So you guys all had the same dream…”_

_“Indeed. It’s rather extraordinary.”_

_“Think Naoya’s seeing it now too?”_

Naoya slowly opened his eyes, vision still blurry. He groaned softly to himself, his head feeling as if a vice had clamped over it.

“Oh, Todou-kun. You’ve come around.” He saw an attractive woman sitting at the foot of his bed. Her auburn-brown hair was unkempt, with her messy curls cascading down her shoulders. She wore a white lab coat, which did little to conceal the rather noticeable curves of her body. A stethoscope hung loosely around her neck.

Naoya immediately recognised her. “Ah… Yoshino-sensei.”

The school nurse giggled. “Welcome to the infirmary. You sure look cute when you’re asleep.”

Naoya instinctively averted his gaze and tried his best not to blush at her remark… as well as ignore the sight of Yoshino-sensei’s slender legs as they crossed over each other. The school nurse had always been a tease with the male students whenever they came over for a visit, intentionally or otherwise.

He slowly pushed himself to sit up straight, only to wince as he felt the back of his head sting a bit.

“Take it easy there,” Yoshino-sensei said softly.

As he managed to sit up, he saw Mark, Nanjo and Yukino sitting by the nurse’s desk. But before anyone could say anything, the door slid open as a familiar woman appearing in her mid-twenties barged in.

“Natsumi-san! Are they all right?” She panted heavily; her face flushed with concern.

“Saeko-sensei!” Yukino said.

Saeko Takami was Naoya’s homeroom teacher, though she had insisted that her students refer to her by her first name. Although she was only a few years older than her students, her experiences as a former St. Hermelin student, her passion for teaching, and kindness all made her popular among the students.

“Thank goodness you’re all awake!” Saeko-sensei breathed a sigh of relief, a hand to her chest. “I was so scared when I heard the four of you collapsed.”

She politely bowed to Yoshino-sensei. “I’m sorry you had to deal with my students, Natsumi-san!”

“C’mon, Saeko-sensei! Taking care of students is her whole job! What’s so bad about us?” Mark interjected, only to be promptly elbowed by Yukino in the ribs.

“Now, now, Inaba-kun! I want you to think about what you’ve done!” Saeko-sensei scolded.

“What?” Mark sputtered. “But it was Brown’s –” he tried to protest but he quickly shut up upon seeing the stink eye that Yukino was giving him, and promptly shrunk in his seat. Meanwhile, Nanjo silently shook his head in disapproval.

Saeko-sensei cleared her throat, having calmed herself down. “Anyway, your classmates told me what happened, so no helping out for you today. Instead, the four of you ought to get checked out at the hospital before you go home. I’m worried that you might have hit yourselves when you fell.”

Yukino sighed. “You worry too much, Saeko-sensei… But I suppose we’ll be heading there now.”

“Speaking of the hospital,” Yoshino-sensei commented. “Wasn’t a student in your class staying there?”

“You mean Maki-chan?” Mark asked.

Naoya frowned. He and Maki had been close friends ever since they were kids, their parents had known each other as they lived in the same neighbourhood. She had gone to St. Hermelin with him, but after she suddenly collapsed last year, she had to be admitted to the hospital and was confined there ever since. Maki had always been a rather frail girl, but to be hospitalised for so long…

Saeko-sensei gave a sympathetic smile. “Since you guys will be at the hospital, why don’t you pay her a visit? She’s been laid up there for over a year now, so I’m sure she’s lonely.”

* * *

~.~

The four of them had already reached the school courtyard, managing to avoid vice-principal Hanya’s roving eyes. Hopefully, he was preoccupied with bothering other students.

“Hey,” Mark squinted his eyes, pointing towards the school gates. “Who’s that old geezer?”

“What are you talking about?” Nanjo wrinkled his nose as he turned to where Mark was pointing. But suddenly, his body froze like a deer in the headlights, a horrified look on his face.

Standing at the entrance of the school gates was an old man, appearing to be in his sixties. His grey hair, neatly slicked back aside from a few loose strands, showed signs of turning white. He had thick eyebrows and a moustache that if not for his thin frame would have made him resemble a walrus. But what caught Naoya’s attention was the old man’s attire; a black suit with coattails, white gloves, black leather shoes and a red bow tie. He was dressed like one of those fancy butlers.

“Young Master!” The old man cried out with a raspy voice.

Nanjo’s face flushed. “Y-Yamaoka! What are you doing here?!”

The old man, Yamaoka, glanced at Naoya, Mark and Yukino. “Oh my! Master Kei is leaving the premises with his group of friends! I’m… I’m so happy to see this…!” he choked out, taking out a handkerchief from his front pocket to wipe his eyes.

Mark suppressed a snicker. “Master…Kei?”

Nanjo’s face became even redder than before. “I’ve told time and time again to not call me that, dummy!”

“Wow, ‘dummy’?” Mark couldn’t contain his laughter any longer. He finally found a chink in that insufferable prick’s armour. “Real sophisticated there, Nanjo.”

Nanjo angrily shook his head, “Look, Yamaoka, I don’t need a ride today! Just… go back home without me!”

Yamaoka put his hands to his mouth in surprise. “Oh my! Will you be going out on the town with your chums, Young Master?”

“I’m only going to the hospital! And stop calling me that!”

“The hospital?! Heavens! Does that mean that mean that the Young Master is injured?!” The butler gasped in horror. It looked as if he was going to have a heart attack.

And suddenly without warning, he began sobbing hysterically. “Then how can I bring myself to return home, without knowing of your current condition!? For all my years under the service of the Nanjo family to care for Young Master Kei, there hasn’t been a moment where I wasn’t concerned for your well-being!”

“Aww… Perhaps the Young Master needs to have his diaper changed?” Mark cooed, before bending over and clutched his belly; he was already laughing so hard that he was crying. Naoya had to bite his lip as hard as he could to stop himself from laughing as well. Even Yukino was unable to control herself, her hand covering her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle her giggles.

Poor Nanjo finally had enough and stomped his foot. “Enough! It’s time we’re on our way! And Yamaoka, do NOT think about even following us!” He quickly stormed off in a huff, with Naoya and the others following right behind him.

“Ohh…Young Master…” Yamaoka sighed.

“Don’t you think that was a little harsh, Kei?” Naoya asked, looking back concernedly as the figure of Yamaoka gradually grew smaller in the distance.

Nanjo simply huffed, pushing up his spectacles. “Yamaoka will be fine. But my concern right now is what happened to the four of us earlier. While you were still unconscious, the three of us were recounting what we saw in our dreams.”

“Philemon… That’s what we all saw, right?”

Nanjo nodded, fully recovered from his flustered state from earlier. “Philemon, Personas… Brings to mind Carl Jung.”

“What?” Mark said blankly.

“Carl Gustav Jung. He was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, and his works were incredibly influential in the fields of not just psychiatry and psychology, but in the sciences and humanities as a whole. He has occasionally mentioned both Philemon and Personas in his writings.”

Mark gave Nanjo an annoyed look. “You coulda just explained it without having to give us the guy’s biography, y’ know?”

“I’ll try and dumb things down from now on,” Nanjo said dryly.

But he put a hand to his chin, a troubled look on his face. “Normally, I would dismiss the entire thing as rubbish. But for everyone to experience the exact same dream…Not to mention that mysterious girl… This is far from a coincidence.”

They continued their trip to the hospital in silence.

They finally arrived at Mikage hospital, walking through the sliding automatic doors. It was about your average hospital; the lobby’s floor had beige carpeting and its walls were slate grey. Several patients were sitting down on the benches, while nurses and doctors scurried about to tend to their patients.

“To be cooped up in a hospital for over a year…” Yukino murmured to herself. “If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to stand it.”

As Nanjo was registering their names in for their examinations at the reception desk, Naoya glimpsed from the corner of his eye a familiar figure huddled in the corner, barely obscured by the vending machine. Walking to the vending machine, Naoya saw that it was Nanjo’s butler Yamaoka.

The butler jumped in shock and cupped a gloved hand over his own mouth, clearly shocked by Naoya appearing in front of him. “Oh dear, I’ve been spotted.” He whispered out in dismay. Naoya sweatdropped as Yamaoka flashed him a pleading look, bowing slightly. “Sir, may I ask that you keep my presence a secret from the Young Master?”

Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Naoya couldn’t help but smile. Yamaoka clearly cares for Nanjo’s well-being, and while the heir did not show it, it’s clear that he felt the same way. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” He whispered back, giving the butler a wink.

Yamaoka bowed again. “Thank you, sir. I’m grateful for that.”

Upon re-joining the group, he saw Nanjo return from the reception desk. “There’s still time until our examinations.” He stated, adjusting his spectacles. “Let’s visit Sonomura first, then. Best not be idle, after all.”

“Sure, let’s go…” Naoya flashed a sly grin. “Young Master Kei.”

“Todou…not you too!”

* * *

~.~

The four took the elevator up to the third floor and walked down the hallway towards Maki’s room: Room 302. As they approached her room, Naoya heard voices coming from inside, Maki and that of an unfamiliar young woman’s.

“There, all done Sonomura-san.” The female voice spoke in a friendly and reassuring tone. “That’s the last of the injections. From tomorrow onwards, you’ll be fine just taking the pills.”

“Okay…” Maki’s voice replied, clearly sounding exhausted.

Mark grimaced. “Geez, for her to go through all this…”

“Then take a good rest, okay?” The female voice spoke again.

As Naoya heard footsteps approaching the door, Maki’s voice weakly cried out. “Wait! Aren’t we going to talk today?”

“I’m sorry. We’re having a lot of emergency calls today.” The female voice sighed apologetically. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you tomorrow and we can go for a walk.”

Deciding to step inside, Naoya gently knocked at the door before opening. They saw Maki sitting up on the bed, dressed in her pink pyjamas. A nurse in her twenties carrying a clipboard stood by her side.

“Ah,” the nurse noticed them before giving Maki a reassuring smile. “It seems like your real medication has arrived. I’ll leave you guys be.”

The nurse left and closed the door behind her, leaving the five friends alone in the room.

Maki’s room unsurprisingly had the same personality as the hospital itself, dull and sterile. Its walls were cream in colour, with no decorations with the sole exception of a large painting that hung by her bedside. Naoya recognised it as Maki’s entry for St. Hermelin’s 24th annual art competition – _The Gates of Paradise_ , which came in first place. After her hospitalisation, the school had it transported to her room, in hopes that it would help cheer her up. Other than Maki herself, the painting was probably the only thing that breathed any sort of life in this room.

As for the rest of the room, there was a multicoloured set of toy blocks on the nearby table, built to resemble a castle of sorts. It was rectangular and had three towers, with the one in the middle standing as the tallest. At Maki’s bedside was a stuffed teddy bear that sat on a chair, a gift from the group shortly after she was admitted here.

“Guys!” Maki managed to muster a feeble smile, a twinkle in those warm chocolate-brown eyes of hers. “You came!”

Her skin pale as a sheet, limbs thin as a result of her lack of physical activity, Maki Sonomura was a frail girl. Her dark brown hair, which reached past her shoulders and touched her bony neck, was dishevelled. Beneath her pale lips was a distinctive beauty mark.

As they all gathered around Maki, Naoya stepped forward and gave her a short bow. “Maki… I’m sorry my folks and I were not able to visit you lately. But they said that they’ve been worrying about you and wish for you to recover soon.”

Maki simply giggled. “It’s okay. Masao-kun came here by himself to visit me last time, and I told him I wanted to see everyone next time. That’s why you’re all here, right?”

Mark sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Aww, it’s nothing really…”

Naoya glanced at Mark, noticing that his cheeks had turned a luminescent pink as he spoke. That’s right…Mark has a crush on Maki.

Nanjo raised an eyebrow and asked. “What are you talking abo—ulp!” He suddenly cut himself off, his body immediately tensing up and he bit his lip.

“That’s right.” Yukino offered a sweet motherly smile, even as the heel of her shoe dug into Nanjo’s toes. “How have you been, Maki? Are you feeling okay?”

Maki seemed to hesitate for a split second, but she nodded. “It’s still lonely out here. The nurse comes to play with me, but she’s often busy. And Yosuke-kun and Chisato-chan… they haven’t been visiting me…”

The four of them gave one another worried glances. Maki didn’t know the couple had been missing for two months. No one, not even their parents, had any idea where they might have gone.

There were rumours that they might have eloped after one of them had a falling out with their parents, but Naoya knew better than to trust rumours. He had known Yosuke and Chisato since first-year; it was not like them to run away without telling anyone. He wondered if they were at least safe.

Seeing the worried expressions on her friends’ faces, Maki spoke again. “Oh, but I’ve been doing well these days. I wonder if it’s because of those nice dreams that I’ve been having…”

“Dreams?” Naoya asked.

Maki placed a hand over her chest, closing her eyes as a serene expression formed on her face. “I don’t remember them clearly, but it’s a magical place. The entire city on the other side has all these pretty flowerbeds for me to play in. Nothing bad happens there, and everyone is nice. Especially that man…he’s like a father to me…”

Naoya frowned. Maki must really miss her father…

“A father? Like your doctor?” Yukino asked. “He seemed pretty nice the last time we were here.”

Maki’s warm expression quickly turned icy, the smile on her face evaporated. “I don’t like him…”

“Why? Did he do something to you!?” Mark demanded, worry etched on his face.

“Mark! Don’t yell at her!” Yukino hissed as she shot him a glare.

Mark, realising that he overreacted with his outburst, quickly shrank back. “S-Sorry…” he said quietly.

Maki shook her head. “It’s okay, Masao-kun… It’s nothing like that. I just… don’t like doctors…”

But Maki suddenly stiffened, her face began contorting in pain and she clutched the sides of her head. “N-Nooooo!” she let out a sharp cry, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Maki!” Naoya immediately rushed over to hold her by the shoulders. “Maki, what’s wrong!?”

But Maki did not answer. One hand clutched at the bed sheets in front of her while the other grabbed at her chest, both white-knuckled from how tight her grip was. Her face was even paler than before, sweat was dripping down her forehead, and her breathing came in ragged gasps. “No…No…” she whimpered hoarsely.

“Damn it! What the hell’s going on!” Mark demanded.

“She’s hyperventilating!” Nanjo answered, placing a hand over Maki’s forehead. “Her body temperature’s also starting to rise up!”

“This isn’t good! Call a doctor!” Yukino cried out.

Mark did not need to be told twice, for in a split second he bolted out the door, slamming it behind him with a violent thud.

Meanwhile, Naoya grabbed Maki’s wrist that was still holding the bedsheets, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Come on, Maki… Hang in there!” he pleaded.

To his horror, Maki slumped forward, her ragged breathing coming to a halt. Had Naoya not been holding her, her head would have hit the bed. Naoya quickly rested her body against the pillow, but she remained motionless.

“Maki! _Maki!_ ”

* * *

~.~

Setsuko briskly walked across the hallway, ignoring the sweat running down her face and the curious or alarmed stares her co-workers were giving her as she brushed past them. She needed to inform the director of this, before it’s too late.

Setsuko Sonomura had joined SEBEC as a promising young Tokyo University graduate with a PhD in Engineering. But despite her merits, despite what she could offer to the table, none of the higher-ups were willing to spare her any thought. All because she was a woman.

Despite this, Setsuko still had a happy life outside of work. At the age of twenty, she had married a salaryman – a sweetheart of hers back in her days as a university student– whose income was enough to support the two of them. They had their daughter, Maki, not long after. Though Maki was a frail girl prone to bouts of illness, both mother and father had pooled their efforts to care for their daughter. It all seemed well.

That is, until the accident. Her husband was on his way home from work when another car collided into his. It was drunk driving, they had said. Setsuko not only lost her husband but the glue that kept her life together.

And just last year, her daughter had another relapse, forcing her to be admitted to the hospital.

Setsuko was then thirty-six, her once youthful enthusiasm dashed. A single mother with a sick daughter confined to a hospital, trapped in a workforce with zero prospects of a promotion. It was truly a dark time in her life.

One day, the new director of the company invited her out for lunch.

It may be hard to believe, but the director was nine years her junior – not even reaching his thirties and yet he was already head of the company. He was apparently the heir to a well-known family. It has been a common practice in the country; one’s family name and what it carries is guaranteed to determine their status in society.

Being nothing more than a low-ranking employee at the time, Setsuko never met the man in person. But now she found herself sitting at an expensive seafood restaurant, sharing a table with him.

“How has work been for you, Sonomura-kun?” The director asked.

“It’s been fine, sir.” Setsuko replied.

The director shook his head. “There’s no need to lie. I’ve looked up on your records, Sonomura-kun. A talented young engineer, unable to achieve her full potential, all because you’re a woman. After all, a man will always have better credentials than what a woman could offer. I can’t say that it’s right, but that is sadly how they think.” He said before taking a sip of his cup of sake.

“I don’t understand, sir…” Setsuko murmured.

Setting down his cup, the director continued. “What I’m saying is that it would be a shame to see someone of your calibre let their talents go to waste. How is your daughter, by the way?”

“She’s still in the hospital… Doctors aren’t sure how long she will have to stay there.” Setsuko murmured.

The director gave a sympathetic look. “And I’m sure that hospital bills aren’t cheap, given your current position. But it won’t be easy to find another job either, especially at your age. Thirty-six, was it? By then, engineers or researchers would have already made their mark in the world.”

Setsuko remained silent.

He slowly leaned forward across the table, his voice became significantly lower. “I’m starting on a project – one that is going to change the world. And I want you to be its head engineer.”

Setsuko’s eyes widened. “Sir…?” She wondered if it was some kind of joke.

The director smiled, using his chopsticks to effortless pull apart the legs of a soft-shell crab. “I’m serious. I’m offering you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and this is your chance to take it. All it takes is my good word, and all your problems will be settled.”

One week later, Setsuko found herself as head-engineer for SEBEC’s secret project. Setsuko now had the accoutrements for success: a high position with a stable income, a bubbly young intern of her own, her picture gracing last year’s annual report, and more than enough money to pay for Maki’s hospital bills. And Setsuko owed it all to the magnanimity of her employer, who made it all possible.

Setsuko worked hard to earn her new position, working long hours, sifting through every single detail to ensure that there were no mistakes. She had worked on the project alongside a foreign engineer, Doctor Nicholai. Together, their efforts had shown a lot of promise. And during her time under the director’s wing, Setsuko saw the various sides of him: his charismatic side, his visionary side…

And his ruthless side; the one that frightened her the most.

Despite that, Setsuko pushed her feelings aside, and continued to work hard as the diligent employee that she was. For Maki’s sake.

But now, she wasn’t so sure that she could bear it anymore. Not with the risks involved.

“Director!” Setsuko cried out, swinging the door to his office open.

The director was sitting at his desk. “Ah, Sonomura-kun. What business do you have with me?” He gave a smile. That charming smile.

Setsuko forced herself to continue, ignoring the pit in her stomach. “Sir, it’s regarding the project.”

“Oh?”

“The system is too dangerous – the margin for error is just too slim!” she pleaded. “If we are careless and something were to happen during the operation, the results will be catastrophic! Worst case scenario: it will not be just this building, but the entire city as well. I tried telling Doctor Nicholai, but he would not listen!”

The director remained silent, his eyes watching Sonomura like a predator observing its prey. But Setsuko was determined to make him see reason, for everyone’s sake. “Director, I’m begging you! Please…! You need to call off the operation!”

The director slowly leaned back into his seat, tenting his fingers. “And what of it?” he asked. “Collateral damage is trivial compared to our ultimate goal. After all, to make an omelette you need to crack a few eggs.”

Seeing the blasé smile on his face, the cold gleam in his eyes, Setsuko felt a chill run down her spine.

“Y-You can’t be serious…” The quaver in her voice was apparent. He left her no choice. She knew that it may cost her the job that was keeping her daughter alive, but she would never forgive herself if something went horribly wrong. She spun around and headed for the door.

“And where are you going?” The director asked.

Without even looking back at him, Setsuko said. “I’m going to inform the police and put a stop to this madness!”

As soon as she flung open the door, however, she felt herself slam into something hard, causing her to stumble back with a startled cry.

Standing at the door was Takeda, the head of security. Setsuko’s heart thumped rapidly as Takeda approached her, a cold impassive look on the massive man’s face. His gigantic frame blocked the doorway, preventing Setsuko from slipping through. The knot in her stomach tightened.

“I’m afraid that would be quite troublesome.” she heard the director’s voice approach her. “Such a shame… You have been an extremely talented engineer, Sonomura-kun…”

Suddenly, Setsuko felt an arm snake around her neck, putting her into a chokehold. She tried in vain to wrench herself free from the director’s grip, kicking at the air, but he was just too strong. She tried to scream for help, but before she could do so, she felt a sharp pain the back of her neck.

The effect was almost instantaneous. Setsuko’s eyelids started to feel heavy. Her arms and legs, which had already stopped kicking, were starting to go limp. And everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the start of the story is exposition-heavy and slow-paced, but things would pick up by the next chapter. Of course, I've got my own workload in school to deal with, so I can't say for sure when the next Chapter will be released.
> 
> Also, Setsukuo's backstory is something that I added to the story, as it would explain how she got wrapped up in Kandori's schemes in the first place. And of course, there's also the struggles of being a single mother in Japan. The scene is also done to add a bit more character to Kandori as well, particularly his charismatic side and how he used that to sway Setsuko to his side.
> 
> Please feel free to give your own reviews! Feedback is most welcome!


	3. I Am Thou...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was originally an ordinary visit soon spiralled into a disaster. After Maki's condition became critical, Naoya and his friends anxiously wait as the doctors work to stabilise her. But soon, the gang will find themselves in a dangerous position as they encounter a threat they had never seen before. To protect themselves, they end up awakening the potential within them.

* * *

Naoya let out a sigh of frustration as he slammed the payphone shut. He walked back to the hallway, where the rest were waiting outside the ICU. Mark had managed to get a doctor, and Maki was sent to the ICU to stabilise her condition.

Mark saw Naoya approaching them and started. “Naoya! Did Maki-chan’s mom – ”

But Naoya shook his head. “Nothing. The receptionist said that she’s in a meeting…”

Mark stomped his foot, his voice raised. “What do they mean ‘in a meeting’?! Her kid’s in critical condition! Is there something wrong with them!?”

Nanjo sternly reprimanded. “Don’t make a scene, Inaba! We’re in a hospital. Do you want the doctors to kick us out?”

As Mark tried to make a protest, Naoya sat back down on the bench next to Yukino, worry etched on her face. “Anyways,” he sighed. “I told the receptionists to leave her a message. I’ve left a voicemail on her house phone as well.”

“Maki’s mom works for that SEBEC place, right?” Yukino asked.

Naoya nodded, resting his chin on his hand. “She’s some kind of engineer there.”

For as long as Naoya and his parents had known her, Aunt Setsuko had an engineering job at a company called SEBEC. It was supposed to be specialised in electronics and stuff.

“She’s still her mom…” Mark muttered as he faced the beige wall, his fist pressed against it. “I don’t care if she’s an engineer or some shit like that. Maki-chan always said that she’s never around. What’s wrong with these adults? To them, it’s always ‘work, work, work’ and nothing else.”

“What kind of parent would make her kid lonely like this?” Mark continued; his voice now filled with bitterness.

“Mark! Don’t say such things!” Yukino admonished, though she was more worried than angry.

Mark spun around to glare at Yukino, raising his voice again. “Then what am I supposed to say?! Isn’t that how it is right now?! If I were a part of Maki-chan’s family, I would never, _ever_ let her be lonely! I’d always be by her side, and make sure she’s okay!”

It was at that moment that Naoya promptly stood up from his seat. “That’s enough, Mark!” he snapped back, raising his voice to match Mark’s, catching everyone off guard.

He gave his friend a stern look. “Have you _ever_ considered Aunt Setsuko’s perspective? If she could visit Maki, she’d do just that. But then how is she going to pay for the hospital bills? Aunt Setsuko’s been at this for years – long before you’ve even known Maki – so don’t try and give her lip when she’s doing all that she can.”

Upon hearing his words, Mark’s anger quickly changed to one of guilt. “Y-your right... I’m sorry. It’s just… I’m worried about Maki-chan.”

“That’s right,” Yukino murmured sympathetically. “Maki’s only got her mother.”

Naoya simply sighed, quietly accepting Mark’s apology and sat back down. There was no use being angry about it; everyone is worried for Maki, including her mom. _That sort of thing…I’m sure even Maki understands that_. _But thinking about it logically doesn’t make it feel any better._

Though they had never been as serious as this, it wasn’t the first time Maki had been forced to remain in the hospital because of her illness.

He remembered his visit that day when she had been confined in the hospital for the first time. They had only been in middle school; Naoya was supposed to share with her his school notes so she wouldn’t miss out.

It was then Naoya had asked if Aunt Setsuko had been visiting her.

“NO!” Maki suddenly shrieked out, roughly shoving Naoya away. Although she was too frail and weak to actually hurt him, the shock of her sudden outburst caused him to stumble back a bit.

“That kind of person…” she choked, balling her fists which gripped the fabric of her covers. “That kind of person is not my mother!”

He couldn’t blame Maki for saying such a thing. It hadn’t been too long since the accident that took her dad’s life. And now her mother’s too busy with work to visit her.

Yukino glanced at the doors of the ICU. “I do hope it’s nothing serious.”

Suddenly, they felt the ground tremble beneath them. “Another earthquake!?” Nanjo gasped.

It happened exactly like it did in school; the entire hallway began to shake even more violently, rocking with such force that it threw everyone off balance.

“Woah! It’s a big one!” Mark shouted over the deep rumble that came from the floor beneath them. The lights flickered. The pictures hanging on the walls clattered to the floor, causing the glass to shatter from the impact.

But eventually, the earthquake slowly began to settle down and the shaking stopped. “It seems to have subsided.” Nanjo commented.

“Maki-chan!” Mark yelled out in panic and scrambled back up to his feet, immediately dashing towards the ICU, the automated doors sliding open as he approached them.

Only for him to find a wall right where the ICU once stood.

Mark stumbled back, narrowly stopping himself from colliding face-first into the wall. “Wh-What the hell?! Where’d the room go!?”

“What!?” Nanjo exclaimed, an incredulous look on his face as he gaped at the concrete wall. “How’s that—I was positive that was the ICU a moment ago!”

Yukino could not believe her eyes either. “What…is this? What’s going on?”

Naoya slowly approached the wall and stretched out his hands. With trepidation, his palms brushed against the wall’s surface before he firmly pressed against it. It wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard he pushed. This was an actual solid wall, no doubt about it.

_This is no dream. This is definitely real!_

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling shriek interrupted his thoughts. Naoya snapped his head to where the screams came from. It sounded like a woman.

“It came from the lower floor!” Yukino answered. “Let’s check it out!” Naoya nodded, and the four quickly hurried their way downstairs to the second floor.

* * *

~.~

As they approached the lobby, they heard a raspy voice called out from inside. “Miss! Hurry!”

Nanjo’s stomach tightened into a knot. _That voice…Yamaoka!?_

What the hell was his butler doing here? Did he follow him to the hospital? He should have known that the stubborn old man would disobey his orders to return home without him!

As fast as his legs could carry him, Nanjo ran ahead of the others, ignoring them as their voices called out to him. He reached the lobby and the doors automatically slid open. A young nurse stumbled backwards out the door, a terrified expression on her face. Nanjo paid her no attention, his mind solely focused on his butler.

What he saw before him caused him to recoil back in horror.

Nanjo saw Yamaoka, standing defiantly before a horde of ghoulish-looking creatures, holding up a wooden pole, probably from a broom or a mop. Its end was broken off, forming a makeshift spear. His once prim and proper uniform was now in complete tatters, and to Nanjo’s horror, there was a small puddle of blood right underneath where Yamaoka was standing.

The old man glanced back at Nanjo, revealing a trickle of blood running down his wrinkled forehead. “Oh… Young Master,” he panted heavily. “Please, run! These miscreants…I will…hold them off…”

The others managed to catch up with Nanjo and immediately started back in shock at the sight before them. “What the hell are those?!” Mark screamed.

The creatures in question were absolutely hideous; their skin was peeled away to reveal their bones and organs, while their jaws hung open revealing their bloodstained teeth that resembled fangs. They looked like something out of a zombie horror flick. But this was no movie… this was real!

But the heir to the Nanjo Group paid them no mind. His attention was solely fixated on his wounded butler, who was now barely able to stand on his own two feet. “Yamaoka! Don’t –!” he cried out as he stepped forward.

But Yamaoka quickly cut him off. “Don’t you dare take another step, Young Master! Please hurry and run!”

Nanjo froze, staring wide-eyed at his butler. Had he gone mad?

“The Young Master is an important person who will carry the Japan of tomorrow! Th-That’s why… you must live on!”

Nanjo gritted his teeth. “You idiot…” he let out a hiss… and bolted forward. “As if I could leave you behind!”

“Nanjo!” Yukino cried out in vain, but he ignored her.

The creatures saw Nanjo charging at them, and an insatiable fire sparked in their bulbous, cloudy eyes.

“Meat… Fresh meat came.” One of the zombies growled. 

“Meat… I want to eat…” the second one licked its lips in ecstasy.

“I won’t let you hurt the Young Master!” Yamaoka declared as he quickly thrust forward, jabbing the second zombie with the splintered end of the pole and piercing through its stomach like a kebab on a stick.

But the zombie did not react in spite of the pole skewering it. It instead grabbed onto the pole and yanked it out of its gut. As hard as Yamaoka tried to wrench his weapon free from the creature’s grip, it would not even budge. With a mighty tug, the zombie effortlessly tossed the pole aside like a ragdoll, with Yamaoka still holding on to it.

“No!” Nanjo let out an anguished cry as he saw Yamaoka crash into the wall with a violent thud before dropping haplessly to the floor.

“Yamaoka!”

* * *

~.~

The vast dining hall of the Nanjo manor was eerily quiet, the only sound being the crackling of flames in the fireplace, which had kept the manor’s vast interior warm from the cold winter evening outside.

12-year-old Kei Nanjo sat silently at the end of the dining table, his hands fiddling with the cutlery. His loyal butler Yamaoka, who had raised the young heir since his birth, stood at his side.

Dinner was stuffed roasted chicken, served with vegetables and potatoes. But Kei could barely muster the effort to eat it, no matter how delicious it looked. Every bite just felt like he was trying to swallow a lump of lead. His attention was instead focused on the empty chairs on each side of the table.

“Yamaoka?” Kei finally broke the silence.

The butler looked at the 12-year-old heir concernedly. “What is the matter, Young Master Kei?”

“Weren’t father and mother supposed to come home today? They promised that they’ll be back on time…”

Yamaoka gave a sombre nod. “That is correct, but they gave me a call earlier…” he paused for a brief moment before continuing. “Due to certain circumstances at the company…”

Kei didn’t need Yamaoka to finish speaking to understand what his butler was about to say.

Kei Nanjo was the heir to the wealthy and powerful Nanjo Group, one of the many conglomerates that had been newly established after World War II. And as Japan’s economic prospects boomed, so did the group. Under the leadership of his grandfather, the Nanjo Group had salvaged many of the small-scale zaibatsu left dismantled and destitute in the wake of the Allied Occupation. Electronics, real estate, trading companies, they were all absorbed into the fold, which made the Nanjo Group one of the most powerful consortia in the country. And Kei was to inherit it all one day.

But for now, his parents were the ones in charge of the company, and to manage such a large conglomerate, they were constantly too preoccupied with work to spend any time with him.

He just looked down, crestfallen. “I see…” He’d let out a sigh and gently set his utensils down, signalling that he’s finished eating. He stood up, pushing his chair back as he did.

“Young Master Kei, you have not finished your meal.” Yamaoka frowned, looking at the half-eaten chicken.

“I don’t feel hungry anymore.” That was all Kei could say, leaving the dining hall to go back up to his room.

As the years passed, Kei had rarely seen his parents around. He found himself struggling to remember what his parents even looked like, the times that he actually saw them being nothing but distant memories. Of course, he had years to get used to their constant absence in his life. But being used to it didn’t make it any better.

Yamaoka had always been there for him, always by his side from the moment he was born. He had taken care of him, fed him, dressed him and taught him. He even attended Kei’s award ceremonies and his graduations, while his parents did not.

One day, Kei had asked his butler why he would be so devoted to him. The butler had answered with a reassuring smile, “It is part of my duty to serve the Young Master and to ensure that his every need has been satisfied. Now, if the Young Master would excuse me, I need to check on the rest of the staff to ensure that tonight’s dinner would be ready on time.”

Kei of course was not satisfied with Yamaoka’s answer. He then began asking the rest of the staff in private if they knew anything about Yamaoka, but he never got the answer he was looking for. Yamaoka had been one of his grandfather’s first employees, long before any of them, so none of the staff really knew much of his personal life.

Though he had never gotten the answer he wanted, Kei began to see Yamaoka as more of a parental figure than his actual parents had ever been.

Part of Kei knew that Yamaoka, now past his seventies, would not be by his side forever. Kei had always dreaded that that day would inevitably come.

* * *

~.~

But never in Kei’s life did he expect for that day to turn out like this.

“You bastards!” Nanjo roared in pure fury. “I will never forgive you!”

“Damn it! Get back, you idiot!” Mark called out to him, but Nanjo ignored him, instead rushing forward to grab Yamaoka’s fallen weapon. He swung the pole and struck the zombie in the head with all his might. The pole snapped clean in half upon impact, but to Nanjo’s shock the zombie remained unfazed, its feral gaze set upon him.

“We’ve got to help him!” Yukino insisted. “Naoya, take care of her!” she motioned to the nurse, who was still on the floor, paralysed in fear.

Yukino and Mark grabbed whatever fallen debris they could use as improvised weapons and rushed in to assist Nanjo. Naoya meanwhile quickly turned to the nurse. “Ma’am! You’ve got to get help! Call the police!”

But the nurse could only weakly mumble out something in response. “Th-Those monsters… they came from the mortuary... The dead patients suddenly got up and started walking before attacking me… But that old man saved me!”

Dead? That can’t be. Those things are actual zombies? How the hell are they supposed to fight something that’s already dead anyway?

Naoya shook his head. This wasn’t the time or place to think about it. He grabbed the nurse by the shoulders and started talking very fast, the words spilt out of his mouth. “Look, go find the rest of the people here and evacuate them to a safe room. Go now. Lock the door and stay behind them. If you don’t hear from any of us, barricade them.”

The nurse tried to protest. “B-But what about you kids? I can’t just leave you behind!”

But Naoya wasn’t having any of it, giving her a stern look. “Just go! If you don’t, many more people may die!”

She didn’t say a word, but Naoya knew that his words had gotten to her. She immediately scrambled to her feet and ran off.

As she left, Naoya quickly turned his attention back to the chaos that was unfolding in the lobby.

Mark was locked in a grappling session with one of the zombies, holding an iron pipe in his hands. But the zombie was way too strong; it easily pushed forward, sending Mark sprawling to the floor with a pained cry. He barely had any time to regain his senses before the monster on top of him, snarling and biting, its jaws just inches away from biting off his face. Mark tried not to puke as the nauseating smell of the zombie’s breath wafted into his nostrils.

“God, you’re ugly…!” Mark said with gritted teeth. The pipe was the only thing that was keeping the zombie at bay. But tried as hard as he could, Mark’s strength was just no match for the creature’s own.

Suddenly, the zombie’s head burst in a spray of black ooze. As the zombie fell limply over to the side, Mark saw Naoya standing over him, panting, holding a fire extinguisher with a massive dent in his hands.

“You okay?” Naoya asked as he offered Mark a hand.

“Thanks… I owe ya one.” Mark heaved a sigh of relief and took Naoya’s hand.

But just as Naoya pulled his friend up, he saw the same zombie stagger back up to its feet. Black liquid was oozing out from where he had struck the zombie, one eyeball hung loosely from its eye socket, swinging like some grotesque pendulum. Snarling and hissing, the creature threw itself at him with one clawed arm poised for an attack.

Acting on instinct, Naoya swung the fire extinguisher a second time. But to his horror, the zombie’s attack tore through the extinguisher as if it were made of paper mache. It yanked the extinguisher, still stuck to its hand, and delivered a kick right at Naoya’s abdomen.

Naoya winced in pain as he felt the wind get knocked out of him, his body flying into the concrete wall. He felt like he had been kicked by a mule. He tried to stagger back on his feet, leaning against the wall for support, but his body was still busy trying to register the pain to be able to do anything.

“Naoya! Look out!” he heard Mark cry out. Looking up, he saw the zombie towering over him, its grotesque face obscured by the shadows. It raised its hand once more, prepared to deal the killing blow.

Naoya gritted his teeth as the zombie brought down its claws. “ _Is this it? Am I going to die here, Kazuya…?_ ”

“ _Do not forget… I will always be by your side_.” A familiar voice echoed within his head.

All of a sudden, Naoya felt a violent surge of bright blue energy erupted from his body, sending the zombie flying back. At the same time, the rest found themselves enveloped by the same blue aura. The other zombies started back in shock and confusion.

“Woah!” Mark exclaimed. “What the hell is going on!?”

Another voice rang inside Naoya’s head. _“I am thou… Thou art I… From the sea of thy soul I cometh…”_

A blue and muscular humanoid figure emerged from behind Naoya, basking in the vibrant blue energy emanating from him. Its limbs, head and groin were all encased in some purple bone-like structure. Perched on its head and shoulders were three small monkeys. One had its eyes covered by a bandana with a blue ‘X’, another had its mouth sealed shut with a similar looking bandana, this one having a red ‘X’. The last one did not have a bandana, but instead wore mufflers with a yellow ‘X’ emblazoned on it.

 _“I am Seimen Kongou, the guardian deity of redemption!”_ The being declared. _“I shall lend you my strength to tear your foes to ribbons!”_

Naoya closed his eyes, his mind completely focused on the enemy before him. “This guy is me… and his power is mine…”

His eyes bronze-coloured eyes snapped open with renewed fury. Almost unconsciously, an unfamiliar word projected in his mind. “Garu!”

With a wave of its hand, the being – Seimen Kongou – summoned a violent gust of green wind beneath the zombie’s feet. The zombie let out an agonised shriek as its body was ripped to shreds. As the wind died down, all that was left was a bloody splatter where the zombie had once stood.

A second zombie, the very one that had attacked Yamaoka earlier, let out an angry hiss at Naoya, apparently undeterred by the fact that he reduced its companion to a puddle. But before it could even attack, it was enveloped in a pink aura and hoisted up into the air.

“Psi.” Nanjo calmly said as he stood there, a steeled expression on his face. Behind him was a purple humanoid. Unlike Seimon Kongou’s muscular build, it was much lankier. With its long, slender legs and sharp nails that lined each fingertip, it seemed almost feminine in appearance.

 _“I am thou… Thou art I… I am Aizen Myouou, the Great Wisdom King.”_ It calmly spoke. With a casual flick of its wrist, the zombie’s head and limbs were brutally ripped apart from its torso, causing black liquid to gush out as all its body parts dropped to the floor.

A third being, resembling an African shaman, appeared behind Mark. It wore an African ceremonial mask with lime-green dreadlocks, with similar dreadlocks attached to its feet and wrists as well. In its hands was a spear with a flint as its tip.

The being boomed in a deep, almost war-like tone. _“I am thou… Thou art I… I am Ogun, the God of Iron.”_

At the same time, Yukino also manifested an entity of her own. It had a feminine figure, coloured orange with yellow and black accents, though its bottom half of its body was balanced on a pair of wheels, making it some weird amalgamation of a human and a motorcycle. Its faced was obscured by a black face shield that resembled a futuristic sci-fi biker helmet, though a pair of red glowing eyes could be seen from underneath.

 _“I am thou… Thou art I… I am Vesta, Goddess of the Hearth.”_ Its voice was mature, yet femine, exuding power and authority as it spoke.

“Zio!” Mark yelled, with Ogun twirling its spear in response to his command.

“My turn! Frei!” Yukino cried out.

A lightning bolt and a burst of bright bluish energy crashed simultaneously on the two remaining zombies; their bodies immediately obliterated into a puff of ashen smoke by the combined assault.

The four of them stood motionless, panting raggedly as they struggled to process what had just happened in those brief moments.

“Woah…” Mark gaped at the aftermath of the carnage in awe.

Yukino murmured faintly. “D-Did we… do this?”

Naoya’s hand gingerly massaged the spot where the zombie had struck him earlier. He let out a soft wince as he felt a sharp pain. He breathed in trepidation as a dreadful thought entered his mind. _There’s no mistake… If it hadn’t been for that thing… I would have been killed._

“ _Persona. It is the power to summon the selves within you. The gods and demons you harbour_.” He remembered Philemon’s words from his dream.

“Th-That’s right!” Mark exclaimed, as if he had read Naoya’s mind. “You guys also heard a voice then, right?”

“You too?” Naoya asked. “It spoke in my voice… saying that it would lend me its power. Just like that Philemon guy said… the power of a Persona…”

“Persona, huh…” Yukino frowned. “Somehow, I still find all of this hard to believe that those monsters came out, or that we managed to kill them…” she motioned to the ashen remains of the monsters.

But Nanjo was not listening, for he immediately focused his attention to his fallen butler who remained motionless on the floor. “YAMAOKA!” he screamed in anguish, rushing to his side.

Yamaoka was lying flat on his back, barely conscious; his breath came in wheezing gasps. Blood was still seeping from the wound on his head, with dried blood caking his cheek and moustache. One of the lenses of his glasses was slightly cracked at the corner.\

“Yamaoka, hang in there!” Nanjo desperately cried out, already reaching for one of his arms to drape over his shoulders. He turned to Naoya and the others, glaring at them. “Don’t just stand there, help me carry him up!”

Naoya looked on grimly. The old man might have sustained more serious injuries than expected, especially for a man his age. It could probably be dangerous to move him. But they can’t just leave him here to die either and he’d doubt that Nanjo would take no for an answer regardless.

So he decided to grab on to Yamaoka’s other arm, and helped Nanjo hoist him gently over their shoulders. The old man moaned weakly, likely from the pain of his body being moved in such a way.

“We’ll need to find the staff. They’re the only ones who can treat his injuries.” Naoya said. “I’d told the nurse to try and them to a safe room. Problem is, we don’t know which room they’ve locked themselves in.”

“Then let’s get going.” Yukino nodded grimly. “Mark and I will try and cover you in case we bump into more of those… things.”

The four of them made their way out of the lobby and into the empty hallway, Mark and Yukino both taking the lead.

But they hadn’t walked much further when they heard a raspy voice call out weakly. “Stop…please…”

Nanjo halted in his tracks. “Yamaoka?”

The old butler was barely holding on. His eyes were dull. His breathing started becoming more erratic. His head weakly lolled from side to side. His legs could no longer support himself, and his body sagged to the floor despite Naoya and Nanjo’s support. “Please…Young master…” he said, voice barely more audible than a whisper. “Let me rest…”

“We can’t… We don’t have much time, Yamaoka! We need to get you treated as quickly as possible.” Nanjo begged.

But the butler shook his head in response. “I’m afraid you don’t understand, Young Master… Please, put me down…”

Naoya gave Nanjo a grim look, shaking his head. As painful as it was, they both knew that Yamaoka was slowly slipping away. There was nothing that they could do.

Reluctantly, the two of them set the butler down, letting his body rest against the wall. Nanjo panickily crouched down onto his knees, facing Yamaoka eye to eye. “Yamaoka… don’t go. You wouldn’t leave me behind, right? Right, Yamaoka?” he choked out, gently grabbing on to the old man’s shoulders.

Yamaoka slowly lifted up his head, and he managed a weak smile. A bony arm reached out to caress Nanjo’s cheek. “Oh, young master… Don’t be sad… It spoils your handsome face. You’ve now become a fine young man… And a man must stand on his own two feet.”

He let out a wheeze, blood oozing out from his mouth. “Yamaoka!” Nanjo could only cry out, feeling his eyes starting to wet with tears. Naoya and the others could only stand by in silence and look at the two mournfully.

Yamaoka managed to continue, pain and sadness in his dull grey eyes. “Young master… You have my sincerest apologies. It seems like my support has finally come to an end. I am now taking my leave, Master Kei… So please, please promise me one last thing…”

“W-What is it?” Nanjo wiped the tears from his eyes.

The old man’s eyes suddenly became focused, as if empowered by a spark of renewed determination. “Promise to become the No. 1 man in the country and carry Japan on your back!” His hand reached out and firmly clasped Nanjo’s own.

Nanjo’s voice trembled as he weakly nodded. “Of course, I will… But I can’t do it without you!”

“Don’t you understand, young master? I shall always be by your side… I’ve already done my part, and now it’s your turn.” He smiled… and closed his eyes.

“Yamaoka?” Nanjo feebly called out, his voice hoarse. There was no response. “Hey…! Answer me, please…! I’m begging you…”

Yamaoka’s grip loosened in his hand, slipping through his fingers and falling harmlessly to the floor.

“YAMAOKA!” A wail rang out from his throat. The dam finally broke, and the tears began streaming intermittently down his cheeks. His body trembled violently in a futile attempt to remain composed.

“But…” Nanjo clutched Yamaoka’s frail hand to his chest, mumbling to himself. “If you’re not here, then what is the point? What is the point of becoming Number 1 if you’re not there to see me? There’ll be no one who will encourage me… No one to praise me… No one to be by my side…”

“Nanjo…” Yukino was about to step forward, ready to comfort the grieving Nanjo. But Naoya had stopped her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, giving her a solemn look as she stared back at him in protest.

Naoya shook his head and Yukino reluctantly stood down, choosing to only avert her gaze from the sombre sight before them.

Although reluctant to break the silence, Mark spoke up. “H-Hey! We can’t just stay here! We need to save Maki-chan and the others!”

“You’re right.” Yukino nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Nanjo?” Yukino softly called out to him with concern.

“I’m not going.” He said, not even bothering to look back at them, his eyes solely fixated on his butler. “I’m staying right here with Yamaoka.”

“Hey, Nanjo…” Mark slowly approached Nanjo, his hand reaching out for his shoulder. “I know that the old man’s important to you, but you can’t stay like this—"

However, he was quickly cut off when Nanjo swatted Mark’s hand away. “Be quiet! What would you know!?” he turned around to reveal his bloodshot eyes, cheeks flushed and stained with tears from crying. “Don’t you think I’m aware of that!? But there’s no way in hell I’m leaving Yamaoka like this!”

The anger in his voice immediately faded, and he turned away again. “If you need to go, then go. Just leave me be…”

But Mark stormed forward, grabbing Nanjo by the arm and yanked him to his feet. “Dumbass!” he snapped in fury. “You think the old man would want you moping around like this!? We’re getting the hell outta here and you’re coming with us, even if we have to drag you out!”.

The Nanjo heir remained speechless, but he steadily composed himself as he averted his gaze from Mark, who was still glaring daggers at him. He looked back at Yamaoka’s lifeless body slumped against the wall. The old man looked so peaceful even in death.

Nanjo finally gave his answer. “Fine. So be it.”

* * *

~.~

They knew that it wasn’t right, but they had to leave Yamaoka’s body behind. But nevertheless, they laid him to rest in one of the nearby storerooms, covering him with some curtains that had been torn down in the zombie’s rampage. They were certainly no morticians, but they did the best they could in cleaning his body of his wounds. It was the least they could do.

Once they were done paying their respects, the four of them made their way across the empty corridor. No one had said a word ever since, not that there was much to say. Everyone was still shaken by all that had happened. 

While Mark and Yukino were at the front, Nanjo was trailing behind. Naoya decided to slow down so he wouldn’t be left alone. His eyes were still red, cheeks still stained with tears, but he surprisingly remained calm as always.

From the corner of Naoya’s eye, he noticed something gleaming in Nanjo’s front pocket. A pair of spectacles, one of its lenses was cracked. The old man’s glasses…

Unconsciously fiddling with his earring, Naoya soon became preoccupied with his own thoughts, his mind struggled to process all that had happened over the past few hours.

It had all started with that bet involving the Persona game. After that, that mysterious girl suddenly appeared before them, then Philemon and that weird dream; Maki’s disappearance; those monsters and Persona that they had summoned to beat them…

 _Just what the hell is going on?_ He thought to himself, but something tells him that they’re not going to get answers anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. It took me a lot longer for me to finish this chapter because I ended up getting bogged down with a lot of essays. But nevertheless, it's done!
> 
> For the design of Nanjo and Yukino's Personas, I decided to stick with the appearances they had in Persona 2, partly because it's the only design that is clear.
> 
> As for Yamaoka's death scene, I tried my best to make it as emotional as possible. The problem with the first game is that Yamaoka died too early before we even really knew his character other than his devotion to Nanjo. At first, I thought of keeping him alive for a while longer at least, but I eventually decided against it because Nanjo's animosity with Kandori wouldn't be as strong if his butler who was essentially his father figure isn't dead. Nonetheless, I'll still try and flesh out their relationship even if Yamaoka's gone.
> 
> But anyway, I have nothing much left to say, so I'm hoping that you've enjoyed the chapters so far, and don't hesitate to give me some feedback too!


	4. ...Thou Art I.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Nanjo and his friends fight their way through an army of zombies, they discover that zombies aren't the only monsters prowling about. Meanwhile, Elly takes the chance to go explore the ghost city and comes across someone.

“You’re crazy.” Yuka said to Elly, watching in irritation as the pony-tailed girl peered her head out from the hole which led to the streets outside.

They were in the school’s incinerator room, where the janitor would take the trash for burning. There was a gaping hole in the brick wall, large enough for anyone to easily slip through, which led out into the streets. It had only been there since the summer, apparently part of a prank by some students. They had snuck in the middle of the night, picked apart the bricks with some tools, and left the hole as their handiwork. Neither the school nor the police managed to find the culprits. And due to budget constraints and other complications, the school couldn’t afford the time and money to hire repairmen to fix the wall. The hole quickly became an easy place for latecomers to slip in and for students to skip classes. Vice-Principal Hanya was none too pleased about that, though it was surprising that nobody had bothered to properly cordon off the area yet.

Elly cautiously peered her head out. She looked to the left. Nothing. She turned to the right. Nothing either.

“It seems like the coast is clear.” Elly pulled back, giving Yuka that saccharine smile of hers, much to her annoyance. “I’m going out to explore for a bit.”

“And I’m telling you you’re crazy!” Yuka snapped back in frustration. “If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do?!”

Ever since that second earthquake had struck, the school had been on high alert. The faculty had announced for everyone to remain within the confines of the school until it was safe. Yuka found it an absolute pain; it was already bad enough that she had to stay back after school to prepare for the stupid festival, and now she’s stuck here for God knows how long.

And to make matters worse, some of the students had come rushing back, saying about how there were suddenly monsters prowling the streets. And yet the monsters refused to even approach the school for some reason. Not that Yuka was complaining. She would rather forego an afternoon siesta than be monster munch, so why Elly wanted to leave is beyond her.

If she gets hurt in any way, Yuka had no doubts that she will get an earful from Hanya. Just thinking about the old grouch and that wrinkled and ugly mug of his bothered her to the core.

But Elly didn’t seem to be concerned at all. Quite the opposite in fact.

“Oh, there’s nothing to be concerned about. Even now I have absolute confidence in my sword skills. A _demon_ or two will be _no problem_.” She chimed, gracefully spinning about the fencing rapier in her hand, before holding it in a classic fencing stance. Elly was a member of the school’s fencing club, with the girl proving herself to be a natural.

Yuka pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. “ _No problem_ , you say. I swear…sometimes you’re – HEY!"

To Yuka’s horror, Elly had already headed out of the hole and into the streets. “If something happens to you, don’t come crawling back to me!” Yuka angrily called out.

She let out an exasperated sigh as Elly disappeared into the distance. “Now I know how Yukino feels.” She grumbled, hoping to herself that nothing bad will happen to Elly, or the others for that matter.

* * *

~.~

Elly’s gaze drifted around her surroundings, but wherever she looked, she saw nobody. It was practically a ghost town, with the whistling sounds of the winds blowing adding to the atmosphere. But the most eerie sight was the sky itself. Instead of the beautiful orange tinge of the setting sun, a grotesque purple mist had completely blanketed the city.

 _It’s so quiet…_ Elly mused to herself. _The city had been normal until recently._ Everyone else must have locked themselves indoors to escape the monsters that were said to be prowling the streets. She was all alone.

Elly knew such a realisation would be absolutely disconcerting if not terrifying to anyone else, but for her, a feeling of exhilaration had instead coursed through her body. She couldn’t help but break into a delighted giggle, hand passionately placed firmly over her chest. “It’s as if I were in a story written by _Stephen King_ himself…!” she said, the book _Salem’s Lot_ – the story of a ghost town populated by vampires – immediately coming to mind.

A low hiss, like that of a snake’s, snapped Elly out of her reverie. Her instincts prompted her to duck behind a nearby building to safety, away from where the noise was coming from. But it couldn’t stop her curiosity from getting the better of her as she took a peek around the corner. And what she saw took her breath away.

She saw two massive lizards roaming around. Their skin was coloured dark orange with mottled blue stripes on their backs from their heads to the ends of their long whip-like tails. They reminded her of a Komodo dragon with their large lizard-like heads and bodies. But they were walking on their strongly muscled hind legs with their forearms swaying about, moving like chimpanzees. 

The lizards suddenly came to a halt. Their heads started turning around to look at their surroundings, their eyes not once blinking. Their heads stopped… in the direction where Elly was hiding.

Elly felt a sudden chill up her spine, her hand tightly gripping the handle of her rapier in anticipation. She could make a run for it, but then again, they might not have actually seen her. Running would probably make a noise that would confirm her presence to them.

But the lizards’ heads slowly turned back to the front, away from her, and resumed their prowl.

Elly let out a sigh of relief as she watched them disappear in the distance. But at the same time, she felt that same thrilling sensation within her spike. “Those are real-life monsters… _fantastic_ …” she spoke breathlessly to herself. She didn’t doubt what the other students had said, but to see the real thing in person is truly a sight to behold.

She continued roaming the streets, until she heard the faint sound footsteps.

Elly turned to see two shadowy figures retreat into a nearby alleyway. From what she saw, the figures appeared to be human. Her genre savvy side reminds her of the many monsters in the stories she’s read that can appear in human form.

That being said, Elly’s curiosity once again got the better of her, and she followed in the direction where the two figures went.

Nearing the alleyway, she cautiously turned around the corner, rapier armed at the ready at the first signs of a trap.

But instead, Elly saw two women. One of them was leaning against the wall, panting heavily. She seemed to be supporting the other woman, who was slumped over and not moving.

“Are you alright?” Elly asked as she rushed to the women’s aid, her concern immediately overriding whatever caution she had.

The one still conscious was a bespectacled young woman, appearing to be at least around Elly’s age. She had long dark hair with straight-cut bangs, tied into a low ponytail that reached her neck. She wore a matching set of white pants and a coat, accompanied with a black undershirt.

The young woman saw Elly approaching, immediately jolting herself to attention. “Don’t come any closer!” she snapped.

Elly stopped in her tracks at the woman’s sudden outburst, but otherwise remained composed. “It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to help.” She said, raising a hand forward in a reassuring gesture.

“And I suppose that sword you’re holding is supposed to be reassuring?” The young woman dryly remarked, motioning to Elly’s rapier while still remaining on guard.

“I understand.” Elly calmly replied, slowly and gently lowering her rapier to the ground, before holding both her hands up. “I am now unarmed. You can relax now.”

Elly felt the young woman’s steady and cautious gaze examine her for a few brief moments. She finally relaxed, hoisting the unconscious woman’s arm off her shoulders and with Elly’s help, gently rested her against the wall. From up close, Elly could now get a proper look at the other woman. She was middle-aged with short and dark brown hair. Like the younger woman, she too wore glasses, but instead wore a dark brown suit and a black turtle-neck underneath.

The young woman took a moment to catch her breath before finally speaking. “You’re from St. Hermelin, aren’t you?” she asked, noting Elly’s uniform. “Do you happen to know a girl from your school? Her name’s Maki Sonomura.”

The mention of Maki’s name caught Elly’s attention. “Yes. I’m her classmate, Eriko Kirishima.”

The young woman heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. This is her mom, Setsuko Sonomura.” She motioned to the still unconscious woman.

“Maki-chan’s mother?” Elly asked in alarm. “What happened to her? Are you both okay?”

“I’m fine, but Mrs. Sonomura’s been drugged.”

“Drugged?”

The young woman said grimly. “Eriko, is it? I know you have a lot of questions, but it’s not safe to talk about it here. We need to get to somewhere safe and call the police –”

But before the young woman could even finish, they heard the sounds of growling, like that of a feral animal.

Elly turned around and saw the same lizard creatures from before at the entrance of the alleyway. The first lizard snarled and lunged forward with alarming speed. As she reached for her rapier, Elly saw a flash of hands armed with dagger-like claws and an open mouth with rows of jagged teeth, ready to strike.

* * *

~.~

Naoya found the silence of the dimly lit corridors absolutely chilling. The only sounds were their own, the echoes made by their footsteps.

“It’s awfully quiet…” Yukino said warily. “ _Too_ quiet…”

“ _Three_ quiet…” Mark added, only to be met with an annoyed glare from Yukino.

“Sorry…” he murmured, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Dammit… I’m becoming Brown.” As much as Mark hated the class clown’s terrible jokes, he sure could use some for levity right now.

The four of them resumed walking, before making a turn as they approached the corner.

“Hold on,” Naoya said, holding up a hand to signal for everyone to stop. “Someone’s over there.”

At the end of the aisle, they saw a familiar figure standing before them, all dressed in white.

“Th-That’s the ghost girl from back then!” Mark exclaimed, echoing what Naoya had been thinking. What is she doing here? And he was certain that she wasn’t there a moment ago.

Just like when they saw her for the first time, the girl was weeping. “Please! There is no time! Help me…” she weakly spoke through sniffles.

“Hey!” Mark had stepped forward. “You have something to do with all the crazy shit that’s been happening today, right? The earthquake, the zombies… it was all you, ain’t it?!”

But Yukino quickly grabbed Mark by the arm before he could step any further, yanking him back. “Mark, stop it!” she hissed. “We don’t know what she might be capable of, or whether they’re even in any way connected! So try not to go in half-cocked and provoke her like that!”

She slowly stepped forward towards the girl, a gentle hand stretched out like an olive branch. “Don’t worry… We won’t hurt you. You said you needed help, right?” she spoke soothingly, like a mother would do to comfort her child.

The girl stopped sniffling and began to speak again. “Please, there’s no time… You’ve got to stop him, or everyone will perish!”

Nanjo frowned. “Stop who, exactly? And what do you mean by ‘everyone will perish’?”

“The ankh…” she whispered out, barely audible for them to catch. “Find the ankh… and you will find the answers you seek.” But as she spoke, Naoya could not help but notice that she was trembling, as if she was afraid.

“The… ankh?” Mark gave a perplexed look. “Come on, you gotta be more specific than that.”

But the girl apparently did not get the message. “Hurry!” she cried out, before her body emitted a flash of white light, prompting the four of them to instinctively shield their eyes from the sudden brightness.

Once Naoya regained his senses, he saw that the girl had disappeared without a trace. “She’s vanished again…” he muttered.

“The ankh…” Nanjo mused, a hint of frustration in his voice. “How can she hope for us to discern the truth based on such cryptic information?”

It was then Naoya and the others heard the sudden creak of one of the nearby doors opening. They spun around to face the sudden noise, alert and their bodies tense in anticipation of any monsters that might burst out and try to ambush them.

But fortunately, all they saw was a middle-aged man in a white coat. Naoya’s eyes widened in recognition. It was Maki’s doctor. Naoya had recognised him from his constant visits to the hospital, but the last time he saw the doctor, he had been treating Maki in the ICU. The very ICU that had vanished into thin air, replaced by a wall of concrete as if it had never existed.

The doctor was holding up a broom like a polearm, ready to strike. But upon seeing Naoya and the others, he immediately stopped himself and relaxed. “Ah, it’s you kids.” He said, lowering the broom. He certainly had seen better days, with his unkempt hair and attire that was both creased and drenched in sweat. Though given the current situation, Naoya couldn’t blame him.

“Quick,” he opened the door, beckoning them to enter. “Come inside.”

As the four entered, the doctor promptly closed the door behind them and locked it. Naoya looked around and saw that they were in the doctor’s office. There were two nurses at the examination table. One of them, whom Naoya remembered as the one treating Maki when they visited her this afternoon, was tending to the second nurse. Naoya recognised the second nurse as the one they had encountered in the lobby when the zombies attacked. Though still frazzled, she certainly appeared to be in better condition than before. A blanket was draped over her shoulders.

She looked up, and her eyes lit up in both recognition and relief. “Thank goodness you’re okay! I was so worried!” she exclaimed.

But as she looked at the four of them, she suddenly stopped. “Wait… where is the old man? Is he alright?” She asked, a worried expression on her face.

No one said a thing, but Nanjo’s pained expression as he averted his gaze was all that was needed to tell the nurse about Yamaoka’s fate.

Once the realisation set in, a horrified expression appeared on the nurse’s face, cupping her hands to her mouth. “Oh my god… I’m sorry…” she murmured. “He saved me from those…things.”

Maki’s nurse reached out her hand to comfort her. “It’s not your fault, Akari-san…” she said sympathetically. She then turned to Naoya and the others. “But how did you all manage to escape the monsters?”

The four teenagers gave one another uncertain looks. Could they trust the doctor and nurses with what they’re about to say? Naoya sighed, massaging his torso where the zombie had struck him earlier. “You might think us crazy with what we’re about to tell you… But I guess we don’t have much of a choice.” He muttered.

* * *

~.~

The four of them shared the details of what happened earlier, how they defeated the monsters by summoning their Personas. Of course, they deliberately left out the mysterious girl, Philemon and the Persona game they played. It was confusing enough as it is, nor did those details seem necessary.

“I see… I would have recommended you to a psychologist.” The doctor murmured sardonically, shaking his head. “But with all that has happened today, I’m willing to believe there is some truth in what you say…”

The doctor then tended to Naoya, checking for any possible injuries. Naoya flinched at the dull pain as the doctor pressed against the bruising but remained patient. In spite of his haggard appearance, he still maintained a calm professionalism as he wrapped Naoya’s torso with some bandages.

“That should do it.” The doctor said as he finished applying the bandages. “Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anything broken. But there will be some bruising so try not to push yourself too hard. I will give you some medicine which will help dull the pain.”

“Thanks, doc.” Naoya said as he buttoned himself up and got off the examination table.

“Hey, doc. How did you suddenly end up here? The ICU that you were in just vanished into thin air.” Mark asked.

“Vanished?” The doctor asked, confused. His hand moved to his face to push up his unkempt hair aside. “I remembered that both me and Nurse Himiko were in the ICU with Sonomura-kun when the earthquake happened… I suddenly felt this massive pressure and lost consciousness. And when I came to, I found both Nurse Himiko and myself in my office…”

He slumped forward. “But Sonomura-kun wasn’t with us. We wanted to look for her, but we came across Nurse Akari. She told us what happened, so we locked ourselves in my office, but the monsters didn’t seem to be pursuing us.”

“Didn’t you call for help?” Naoya asked.

Akari shook her head, reaching for the phone. “We tried… the power is one but there’s no signal.”

The doctor suddenly slammed his fist onto the desk with a loud thud, starling everyone in the room. His other hand gripped the fabric of his pants, balling them in frustration. “And it’s not just the phones! The TV, the radio, I can’t use a damn thing! And on top of that, the hospital’s under attack by those monsters!”

“That’s not all…” Himiko spoke up, gesturing Naoya and the others to follow her to the window. “Look over there. I noticed it after the earthquake.”

To their shock, they saw that the entire city of Mikage-Cho had been enveloped in a purple mist. They couldn’t even see the sky…

The doctor seemed to have finally calmed himself down. “Believe me,” he said softly. “I want answers like you kids do, but my main priority right now is to find Sonomura-kun and finish her treatment… She’s probably out there with all those monsters, and in her current condition…”

“Damn it…” Mark gritted his teeth. “Where the hell could she be?”

The doctor clasped his hands together. “I know this will sound dangerous, but I have a favour to ask of you.”

The four of them looked at the doctor confusedly, but the doctor continued to explain. “There are probably still more of those monsters running amok here, meaning that the rest of the staff and patients might still be in danger. If what you say is true, then you kids have the power to defeat those monsters. If you can, please try to save the rest of the people here, and find a way to get in contact with the outside world somehow…”

Nanjo frowned, folding his arms. “That’s fine and all, but I’m afraid your faith in us is misplaced. We’re not even sure how to summon our power ourselves.”

“Are you serious? Persona, Shmersona! These people are still in danger with those monsters walking about.” Mark angrily protested. 

“Mark’s right.” Naoya agreed. “We’ve still got to try.”

Nanjo hesitated for a brief moment, before finally letting out a sigh. “Alright… We’ll try and help as much as we can.”

The doctor bowed gratefully. “You all have our thanks…”

* * *

~.~

The four teenagers gathered whatever medical supplies they could carry, provided by the doctor. They also armed themselves with whatever they could improvise as weapons: a broom for Naoya, a broken pipe for Nanjo, a fire axe for Mark, and a scalpel for Yukino. While they have their Personas on their side and their ‘weapons’ may not look much, they can never be too careful. Bidding the doctor and nurses farewell, they left the safety of the office and stepped out into the danger zone.

They didn’t walk much further when Yukino started speaking, her fingers tugging at the collar of her uniform. “Hey, is it just me, or has the air in here been feeling kind of weird?”

“Yeah…” Naoya muttered in agreement, pulling at his own collar. It was as if there was something in the atmosphere. There was also a strange, almost nauseating smell, like old dried vomit.

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of thundering footsteps coming from both in front and behind them. Before they even realised it, they were surrounded on all sides by more zombies.

“Crap! We’re surrounded!” Mark gritted his teeth.

“Guess we have no choice… we’ll have to summon our Personas and fight.” Naoya said. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, body tensing up. His mind fought to recall the experience he had felt when his Persona had come out for the first time.

Upon feeling that similar rush of adrenaline within him, Naoya’s eyes snapped wide open with renewed determination. _Come, Persona!_

To everyone else’s surprise, he became enveloped in that same blue aura as before, and Seimen Kongou appeared behind him. Ignoring the steady ache in his body, he charged into the horde. His Persona gave a maniacal laugh, hungering for battle.

* * *

~.~

“Zio!” Mark let out a triumphant cry as his Persona Ogun struck down the final zombie with a lightning bolt, reducing it to ashes.

The four of them had managed to summon their Personas to fight their way through the horde. They began clearing out the floors of whatever monsters they could find, leaving piles of ashes and splattered zombie body parts in their wake. Along the way, they encountered a few frightened staff members and patients, but they managed to save them before the monsters could attack, warning them to lock themselves in case more monsters come. As they kept on moving, more and more zombies seemed to pop out of nowhere.

“Seems like that was the last of them.” Nanjo observed, panting. They had managed to fight their way to the ground floor and reach the main lobby.

“These guys aren’t a big deal after all!” Mark gave a cocky grin, giving one last kick at a disembodied zombie head like a soccer ball, only to end up spraying more zombie blood and gore all over the floor in the process.

Yukino promptly yanked him by the ear, causing him to let out a cry in pain. “Oh, get off your high horse.” She chided. “The only reason we are even able to fight these things is because of our Personas.”

Mark grumbled as he massaged his sore ear. “I know, I know…But still, calling them out is a lot easier than I expected.” He then gave another grin. “And you have to admit, it feels good, doesn’t it?”

Yukino folded her arms thoughtfully. “I guess…” Ignoring the smug expression Mark was giving her, she instead turned to Naoya. “And speaking of which,” she said, smiling. “You really surprised us back there with that initiative, Naoya. I always took you for the passive type, but I guess I was wrong.”

Mark nodded in agreement. “Yeah. You’d usually be tagging along with whatever me or Brown are doing. Looks like we’re seeing a different side of you.”

Naoya looked unimpressed. Passive? Him? But he had to admit that he had always been the type to go with the flow, not trying to put in serious effort into things. When it came to his performance in school, he’d always maintained the average standards, his exam scores were not abysmal but certainly not at the top of the class either. And Yukino did have a point. He remembered that feeling of exhilaration when he summoned Seimen Kongou earlier, the thrill of battle as he jumped into the fray. Then again, he guessed that being thrown into a situation of life and death would tend to bring out such feelings.

But he noticed that Nanjo was instead more preoccupied the remains of the zombies – at least those that were not reduced to cinders – with intense focus. He crouched down, observing one of the shredded remains. “Nurse Akari mentioned that these things came from the morgue, didn’t she?” he asked Naoya.

“She did.” Naoya replied. “Why?”

The heir to the Nanjo group shook his head. “Something about these creatures bothers me. These things were already dead… but they somehow came back to life.”

Naoya crouched down beside Nanjo to look at the remains. He immediately wrinkled his nose as he got close; the corpse absolutely reeked. But… the smell was oddly familiar, of old and dried vomit.

Just like the air earlier.

Could it be that whatever was in the air had something to do with those zombies?

Suddenly, one of the zombie body parts wriggled to life, and leapt forward for Naoya’s throat. He swiftly responded by batting it away with his broom, sending it careening to the wall with a splat. To everyone’s shock, other disembodied zombie parts began to move.

They tried beating, jabbing and even stabbing them with their weapons. But the damn things just wouldn’t stop moving. That is, until Yukino called forth Vesta, her Frei spells vaporising the undead body parts.

It was then Naoya noticed something. Only the zombie remains that were disembodied, and not turned into ashes or outright vaporised, could come back to life. Not only that, but that foul smell that came out from them was similar, if not the same, as the weird air.

His eyes darkened. “What if… something was bringing these things to life, or controlling them, even?” he asked out loud.

“H-Hey!” Mark exclaimed. “You mean to say that there’s something else in this hospital?”

“I don’t think Toudou’s imagining things. Take a look over there.” Nanjo said grimly, pointing to the ceiling as if to prove his point.

Everyone turned to look where Nanjo had been pointing. To their shock, they saw a purple fog leaking out from the ventilation shaft.

Nanjo narrowed his eyes. “We were all too preoccupied with the zombies to have noticed that there was something else controlling these things. When Yukino and Toudou felt the abnormality in the air, and those zombies showing up all of a sudden, there is no way that was a coincidence.”

Naoya nodded in confirmation. “So that gas _is_ the source of the zombies.” He clenched his fist, and Seimen Kongou appeared. “Now we just gotta flush whatever that is out from hiding. Garu!”

Seimen Kongu summoned a wisp of green wind. This time, however, Naoya directed the wind to create a miniature cyclone, which sucked up all the purple fog with it. The wind dispelled, and a floating woman’s face and a pair of arms appeared in its place. It was vibrantly coloured neon, with its hair and lower body shaped like jagged spikes, resembling lightning bolts.

The spectre let out a shriek, causing everyone to drop their weapons and instinctively cover their ears at the ear-piercing noise. It was like a cat scratching its nails against the chalkboard, the sound was unbearable.

The spirit eventually calmed down, its screaming slowly coming to a stop, allowing the four to catch their breath. But the spirit then raised its hands, and Naoya noticed that the nearby debris began twitching, trembling, before being lifted up from the floor, floating in the air. This isn’t good…

Sure enough, with a flick of its fingers, the spirit sent the floating objects careening towards them like projectiles.

“Woah!” Mark yelped, narrowly dodging a chair that became embedded into the concrete wall. The others also dropped to the floor to take cover from the other salvo of debris hurled at them.

“Damn it. We’ll need an opening.” Naoya grunted.

“Aizen Myouou!” Nanjo said. The purple, mummy-like Persona manifested and spread out its hands. The flying objects came to a halt, as if they were frozen in time. The spirit gave a confused look at why the objects it was flinging about stopped moving, before trying to redouble its efforts.

“There’s your opening…” Nanjo clenched his teeth in deep concentration. “Now hurry up. I don’t think I can hold them off for much longer…”

“Leave it to me!” Mark said, summoning Ogun. With its spear ready for attack, Ogun lunged at the spirit and thrust the spear straight into its face. The resulting blow created sparks of electricity to burst out from the point of impact, causing Ogun to be thrown backwards. Meanwhile, the spirit shrieked in pain, the floating objects suddenly flying out of control as a result of its hold being released.

But the spirit quickly recovered, seething with rage and raised its hands again. This time, however, the four of them found themselves floating in the air, before being flung into the wall. Naoya let out a sharp cry in pain from both the impact and his bruising. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t move a muscle. The spirit had effectively pinned them to the wall by their backs.

The spirit let out a manic grin as it raised a finger. Yukino’s fallen scalpel levitated into the air, the sharp end of the blade pointing in the direction of where the four of them were pinned to, gleaming menacingly in the light.

“Crap!” Mark gulped, still trying in vain to break free.

The spirit lowered its finger and pointed at Mark, and the scalpel was sent firing like a bullet.

“Kouha!” A female voice cried out.

A burst of golden light blasted into the spirit’s face, causing it to scream in pain once again. But this time, its body exploded into a reddish black puff of smoke, its screams dying out as it did.

The exact moment the spirit was vaporised, Naoya and the others felt the great pressure that pinned them to the wall disappear, and they dropped harmlessly to the floor. Mark gulped nervously as he saw the scalpel embedded into the spot where he once was, quivering from the impact.

Naoya looked up and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

Elly was standing at the entrance of the hospital doors, with poise and grace, rapier in hand. By her side was a robot-like humanoid, shining in silvery steel and amber-coloured eyes, and a strip of metal behind its head resembling a ponytail. It lacked arms, and instead had wings that resembled the wings of a fighter jet. At the ends of its feet were miniature rocket boots.

“There’s no need for concern, everyone!” Elly proclaimed triumphantly as she spun her rapier with finesse. “My _Persona_ , Nike, is the Greek goddess of victory and the model of all angels! If anything strange were to happen, _have no fear_! From this point on, I shall be everyone’s _angelic bringer_ of victory!”

The four of them just stared blankly at her, mouth agape, as they watch her continue to ramble on. Elly has a Persona as well? Though to be honest, Naoya was more taken aback by Elly’s bombastic display. Throughout his time knowing her, Naoya had always seen Elly as a prim and proper student. She still maintained the elegance that she was known for, but with now an added element of panache. It was honestly bizarre.

“For it’s me…and I’m it…” she murmured, her eyes seemed glazed over. Her Persona had already faded away.

Is…Is she okay?

“Uh…Elly? Hey! Are you okay?” Yukino walked up to the entranced girl, waving a hand in front of her face.

“For it’s me…and I’m it…”

Mark shook his head, sweatdropping. “No good. We’ve lost her.”

This time, Yukino grabbed Elly by the shoulders and shook her. “Elly! Snap out of it!” she yelled.

Elly let out a gasp, seemingly to have finally snapped back into reality. Her cheeks became dusted with pink as she put a hand to her lips. “I-I’m sorry… I’m alright.” She murmured in embarrassment.

“And sorry to burst your bubble, Elly.” Mark added, tucking his hands into his pockets. “We can use Personas too.”

“Oh…:” Elly said, more dejected than surprised. “So, I’m not the only one who was chosen after all…”

“Eriko,you dreamt of a butterfly, didn’t you?” Nanjo asked.

Elly perked up in surprise upon hearing what Nanjo said. “How did you know about that? I’ve seen it quite often in my dreams… Ever since I played the Persona game.”

Nanjo put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “It’s just as I thought. That dream must be the cause of the phenomenon… And if my hypothesis is true, then those who played the Persona game must have the power of Personas.”

“Brown and Yuka mentioned that they played the game as well. Does that mean they have Personas as well?” Yukino suggested.

Nanjo shook his head. “Perhaps. But it seems like we could only awaken it in certain situations, particularly when it concerns life and death.”

“Anyways,” Mark interjected, instead turning to Elly. “Why’d you come here? Is it like this outside too?”

“Yes. There are _demons_ everywhere.” Elly replied. “But apparently, the school is the only safe place because they would not dare to approach it, even with that hole.”

“The school’s safe?” Yukino furrowed an eyebrow. “Guess we should head back. Seems like with that spirit gone, we’ve cleared out all the monsters in the hospital.”

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Elly suddenly exclaimed. “I came across Maki’s mother and another woman. They’re safe in the Alaya Shrine, though Mrs. Sonomura is still unconscious.”

Naoya stiffened. Aunt Setsuko is hurt?

“What!?” Mark exclaimed. “Jeez, why didn’t you say so before!?”

“Then we shouldn’t waste any more time. Let’s go.” Naoya nodded in agreement, already stepping out of the hospital.

First Maki’s gone, now Aunt Setsuko is in trouble? Just what the hell is going on?

* * *

~.~

The Alaya Shrine is the local Shinto shrine located in the 1st ward of Mikage-cho, just a few blocks away from St. Hermelin High. The shrine had existed back when the city was nothing more than a humble village during the pre-Meiji era. Even as the village modernised into the city that it is today, the shrine remained unchanged. It was primarily made of cypress wood, due to its natural sturdiness and resistance to both decay and insects. It also had a pine-green tiled roof, providing shelter for the interior. Two statues of komainu, or lion-dogs, that were made of stone stood side-by-side, guarding the entrance.

The five students successfully made it to the shrine, whilst evading any monsters and demons along the way. They entered the shrine and shut the door behind them.

The interior of Alaya Shrine was decorated with dozens of kabuki masks, which were hung all over its walls. The emblem of a butterfly was painted on the wooden floor. The fragrance of incense, no doubt burnt at the start of the day, filled the room.

Naoya saw Aunt Setsuko, still unconscious, lying down at the corner of the shrine. And like Elly mentioned, a young woman appearing to be in her early twenties, with dark hair and glasses, was by her side. She was supporting Aunt Setsuko’s head with her own lap.

“Aunt Setsuko!” Naoya exclaimed, rushing to her side in concern.

“It’s alright.” The dark-haired woman reassured him. “She’s still alive, but she’s still under the effects of the drug.”

“Drug?” Naoya asked in confusion. Aunt Setsuko was drugged? By whom? Why?

The dark-haired woman sighed. “Guess I have a lot to explain to you guys…”

“Erm, sorry…” Yukino interjected. “But who are you? And how do you know Mrs. Sonomura?”

The woman smacked herself in the forehead. “Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself. Silly me.” She cleared her throat. “Anyways, my name’s Wakaba Isshiki. I’m an intern working at SEBEC. Mrs. Sonomura here is my mentor, to help show me the ropes.”

 _An intern? Guess that explains why she looks so young._ Naoya thought. Now that she mentioned it, Aunt Setsuko never really told him much about her job at SEBEC the times they met.

Isshiki-san’s expression darkened, her tone becoming more urgent. “But we don’t have much time. We need to contact the police or the army ASAP! Everything happening right now is all because of _him_!”

“Who?” Naoya asked.

“Mrs. Sonomura’s boss, Takahisa Kandori.” She answered.

The moment Isshiki-san dropped the name, Nanjo’s eyes widened in shock. “Takahisa… Kandori?” he muttered, his face as pale as sheet and his body tense.

“Do you know him, Nanjo?” Yukino asked.

Nanjo scowled. “That man… just what in the hell is he planning?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this is a relatively quick update thanks to me having more free time!
> 
> I bet many of you are surprised with Wakaba Isshiki, the mom of Futaba Sakura, appearing in the story. I felt like her research into Cognitive Pscience in Persona 5 could have explored further. It felt more like a plot device that can connect Futaba to the main story, though I'm glad it was more touched upon in Royal, even if it happened to be involved with a different character instead. Anyways, I felt like the whole SEBEC incident would heavily influence her research into Cognitive Pscience. 
> 
> The spirit that Naoya and the Hermelin gang encounter is called a Quicksilver. (No not that Quicksilver.) It is a female version of a poltergeist, enjoying pulling pranks such as throwing furniture around. Initially, I did not plan to include the Quicksilver into the story, having Naoya and the others focus on fighting the zombies before leaving the hospital, but I felt like the Quicksilver and the idea that it could control the zombies to be an interesting idea.
> 
> The lizard creatures Elly encounters are Ihika.


	5. Disaster Area

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes have discovered the mastermind behind all the chaos, and begin to plan their next move.
> 
> Meanwhile, the citizens of Mikage-Cho are still grappling with all that has happened.

_**One year ago…** _

The Wilton Hotel in Tokyo was extravagant on that particular night. The setting was a buffet dinner. Waiters flocked in and out of the dining hall with trays of food in hand. Kei swore he saw seventeen types of appetisers alone decorating the dining table. Over a hundred guests, all busy chatting amongst themselves, filled the hall. A band, positioned at the far end of the hall, was playing a classy jazz piece for the occasion.

Kei came dressed in the finest threads his family could afford: a black wool single-breasted dinner jacket with matching black trousers, accompanied by a white cotton evening shirt embroidered with custom-made cufflinks displaying the family emblem. Kei wore a traditional black bow tie to match up with his tuxedo instead of his signature aqua blue cravat. After all, this event had a strict dress code.

It was Kei's first time at a black-tie event where many of Japan's corporate bigwigs gathered to mingle with one another, i.e., scoping out potential business partners, clients, investors and the like. Even such luxurious dinners provide little respite from the rat race. But Kei's parents did not take him to this event solely to rub shoulders with the high-ranking kiss-ups. He was here to witness the award ceremony for a rising star in the corporate world – Takahisa Kandori.

Takahisa Kandori was the only son of Hisato Kandori, a relatively low-ranking politician. Since the Edo Period, countless statesmen had passed down the Kandori family name, maintained through a combination of land, wealth and connections. But after the war, much of the family's prestige and power declined under the new status quo. Its members kept the name afloat the only way its members knew how: marriages. Kandori himself had been the product of an arranged marriage between his father and the daughter of a wealthy noble.

But from what Kei had researched in preparation for the occasion, Kandori took a different path from his predecessors, choosing to play his hand, not in politics, but business. That is the reality of the modern world; power and prestige no longer rested on titles and bloodlines, but money. And Kandori knew that. An Oxford graduate, Kandori earned degrees in the fields of economics, law and sociology – the foundations of what made a good businessman. Shortly after graduating, he was hired by SEBEC to be a consultant.

The company he worked for, the Saeki Electronics & Bio-Energy Corporation, or SEBEC for short, was a subsidiary of the renowned conglomerate known as the Saeki Group. It specialised not only in developing electronic goods but also dabbled in a potentially lucrative venture: bioenergy.

Since the dawn of the energy crisis during the 1970s, as well as mounting awareness of climate change, many industries saw potential in exploring sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels. SEBEC was one such up-and-coming enterprise.

But severe mismanagement, as well as a series of industrial accidents, nearly doomed the company. On one occasion, a fire broke out at one of SEBEC's industrial plants in Kadoma that killed dozens of workers. Another incident saw a factory worker get run over by a backhoe during construction work.

Shady rumours surrounding SEBEC then began to spread like wildfire in the summer. Nobody wanted to do business with them. SEBEC had been on the brink of disaster; their stock plummeted by 30 percent, and President Saeki contemplated pulling the plug on the project.

That is until Kandori came into the picture. Once he took over the company's affairs, the man quickly worked his magic. He found new blood, hiring and promoting researchers who showed promise while dismissing the older employees who failed to produce results. He hired lawyers and PR agents to clean up SEBEC's past messes – a clean slate, after all, was necessary for business. But above all, he had friends – both at home and abroad – who were willing to provide extra funding for whatever projects SEBEC needed to stay ahead of their competitors.

Kandori had, in short, saved what was effectively a company on its knees. With a sharp acuity in business necessary for him to easily climb the ranks, Kandori made his mark in the financial world at the ripe young age of 26. This ceremony was to commemorate his recent promotion as SEBEC's branch head in Mikage-Cho, his hometown.

It was the moment when Kandori had walked onstage to accept his award did Kei finally see the man for the first time. Tall yet slender, hawk-faced with dark grey eyes, Takahisa Kandori looked about as intense as one would expect of a businessman of his rank. Yet the way he gave his speech, the genial smile on his lips, the soothing magnetism in his deep voice, the confidence he exuded; all of which displayed the makings of a politician.

"Pay attention, Kei." His father had whispered into his ear. "Here is a man you should take inspiration from if you wish to become Japan's Number One." Number One… That was what Kei's parents had expected of him. That was to be his future.

Once the award ceremony was over, the bigwigs dispersed to resume talking amongst themselves. Kei's parents took the opportunity to introduce their son to Kandori. He was currently striking a conversation to a balding, portly man whom Kei easily recognised from his frequent visits to the Nanjo manor.

Kouetsu Kirijo was the head of his own family conglomerate known as the Kirijo Group. Like the Nanjo and Saeki Groups, Kirijo had much clout in the business world, even if they happened to be under the Nanjo Group's direction. Of course, that will change soon, for Kirijo had publicly announced aspirations to split off from the Nanjo Group and start off on his own. But his parents and Kirijo had already discussed the terms – both families were to part as friends. Their words were "Two in Harmony surpasses One in Perfection".

"A shame that you chose to join with the Saeki Group, Kandori-san," Kirijo said. "I'm sure that my family or the Nanjo Group would have gone far with a man of your calibre."

Kandori simply smiled. "I'm grateful for the compliment, Kirijo-san. But the Nanjo and future Kirijo Group have too many flowers in the garden, all of them tall and bright. I prefer a garden where the roots have space to climb."

"Ah, and an ambitious one too." Kirijo chuckled. "I wish the world had more men like you, Kandori-san. You would have been useful in –"

Kirijo stopped as he noticed Kei and his parents approaching them. The smile on his face died as he cleared his throat, before muttering something inaudibly to Kandori before disappearing into the crowd.

Introductions were brief yet formal, the man answering his parents' questions courteously as possible.

There was something about Kandori that simply unnerved Kei. The man seemed to be smiling as he talked, but his dark grey eyes were not. They instead glowered with disdain at everyone else around him, as if they were insignificant gnats in his presence.

Though Kei had never met the man face-to-face since, he had never forgotten those cold, unfeeling eyes.

* * *

~.~

"In short," Nanjo said, a hint of venom in his voice. "I never liked the man. The fact that he has a hand in all this chaos doesn't surprise me."

Mark let out a derisive snort. "It must be the end of the world for you of all people to say something like that. Still, that guy sounds like dirty business."

Nanjo turned to Wakaba, ignoring Mark's snide comment. "You said Kandori was working on some secret project. Do you have any idea what it is?"

Wakaba shrugged. "I don't exactly know the full details. The big shots just give an order here, another order there, but they never tell us what the project's all about. Mrs Sonomura's the head engineer, so you can ask her." She then directed a concerned glance to the unconscious woman, whose head was being supported by Naoya's lap. "But I don't know how long it would take before she would wake up…"

"We could take her to the hospital, but the staff already have a lot on their plate right now." Yukino proposed. "If her condition's not too serious, Yoshino-sensei could treat her."

Nanjo nodded in agreement. "And if what Kirishima said is true, the monsters for some reason aren't approaching the school, which makes it a secure place for these two to hide. But we also have to try and get in contact with the outside world."

"I'll go." Mark immediately declared as he began heading towards the shrine's exit.

Nanjo had also stepped forward. "As they say: 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'. I'll come with you."

Isshiki-san raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's safe with just you two? No offence, but both of you don't look like you'd last a day out there."

A confident smirk appeared on Mark's face. "Heh. I don't know about him," he said as jabbed a thumb at Nanjo who shot back an irritated glare, "but I'm way tougher than I look. So don't worry about us, Isshiki-san. Just get Maki-chan's mom somewhere safe."

Before anyone could stop them, the two of them had already headed out and shut the door behind them. "I hope those two know what they're doing…" Yukino sighed, shaking her head.

"Those two do have a similarly reckless temperament." Elly mused, giggling to herself.

Naoya could not help but chuckle along with her. For all the two's constant bickering, they do have more things in common than either of them would like to admit.

"Anyways, we'd better head out as well," he said. As Mark had said, Aunt Setsuko's well-being is his top priority, and he needed to get her to safety as quickly as possible.

* * *

~.~

"Clear the area! Priority one is protecting civilians!" the police sergeant barked out through the megaphone. People scurried out of their cars, being directed by the nearby police officers to safety.

Putting down the megaphone, the sergeant turned to one of his subordinates. "Can you still call for back-up?" he asked.

The officer shook his head, replying as calm as he possibly could. "No sir. All the radios are down! We can't even contact the station!"

"Damn it…" The sergeant cursed out in frustration. They really had their work cut out for them. First, there was that damn earthquake and now talk of monsters terrorising the city. Without any hope for back-up, they had to deal with this mess themselves. They drove from district to district, trying to evacuate as many citizens as they could to safety, whilst dealing with the monsters along the way.

And speaking of which, a gaggle of strange creatures resembling snowmen – with their large and white round heads and bodies – all dressed in blue clothes akin to that of a court jester, were standing before them. The snowmen's path was obstructed by several police cars forming a makeshift blockade, with several police officers aiming their revolvers at them. Despite this, the snowmen don't seem to be bothered, much less frightened, at all. They were instead staring at the officers with a sort of child-like wonderment.

Suddenly, one of the snowmen hopped forward. "Hee Ho!" it chirped.

"Stay back!" One of the officers warned, fingers trembling over the trigger.

"Don't, you idiot!" The sergeant yelled out, but it was too late. The panicking officer had fired his revolver, the bullet striking the approaching creature in the chest. The snowman tumbled back with a yelp, rolling away a few feet like an out-of-control snowball.

But the snowman immediately hopped back on its feet, unharmed. With a big smile still on its face, it wagged its finger like a parent scolding a misbehaving child. "Hee Ho! That wasn't very nice!"

Snowflakes appeared from the tip of its finger. Suddenly, the officer who had fired his revolver found his gun completely encased in ice. He let out a startled yelp as he felt the burning sensation of the ice, causing him to drop his revolver.

"Hee Ho! Hee Ho!" The snowmen began chanting, hopping up and down as children would do on a bed. A sheet of ice materialised on the ground, slowly spreading and approaching the officers. The police stumbled back away from the ice and ducked behind the safety of their vehicles. But as soon as the ice made contact with the wheels, the cars were frozen solid as well.

"Retreat!" The sergeant yelled out, trying to hide the panic in his voice. The entire police squad backed away before breaking out into a run, the snowmen playfully hopping after them in pursuit.

* * *

~.~

In a lonely apartment found in the southern district of Mikage-Cho, a woman sitting on the living room couch was watching the news on television with a burgeoning sense of anxiety and dread.

The newscaster onscreen spoke. "Our top story this evening is of a series of concurrent disasters that have taken place in the city of Mikage-Cho. In the late afternoon approximately around 5.37 pm, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake had struck the city. Though the city suffered some infrastructural damage, there were no reported casualties."

Noa Toudou wrung her hands as she heard the news. She had been worrying sick about her son Naoya ever since the city was hit by the earthquake. She was all alone in the house; her husband was currently overseas on a business trip. Though she still loved him dearly, the fact that he was never there for her in times like this left her with a sense of bitterness…

She had tried calling the school, as well as the folks at Inaba Dry Cleaning – their son Masao was a close friend of Naoya's in school – but to no avail. The school line did not seem to be working. The Inabas, meanwhile, said that they did not receive any word on either their son or his friends.

The screen then showed in the background aerial footage of a massive cloud of vile purple mist, in the shape of a dome, tall enough to tower over the nearby skyscrapers.

The newscaster continued. "Shortly afterwards, however, a mysterious fog had blanketed over a significant portion of the city. There are currently attempts to get in contact with those trapped inside but with no success. Local authorities, meanwhile, have urged civilians to remain calm and avoid approaching the area while experts are still trying to assess whether this fog is hazardous. Our anchorman Keiji is currently on the scene to provide a live report."

The screen shifted to footage of the anchorman standing before several police vehicles. "Thanks, Kanda-san." The anchorman spoke as loud as he could over the sound of shouts and wailing sirens in the background. "Both the police and emergency services have cordoned off the entire area. Although the situation as of now seems to be under control, the military may be deployed as well to provide additional support."

"But right now," the anchorman solemnly continued, "all we can do is hope that the people inside are safe, and pray for a miracle."

Noa's mind briefly flashed back to a memory from twelve years ago, a memory that even up to now continued to haunt Noa in her dreams. She remembered the sirens wailing in the distance, the men who delivered her the news at her doorstep…she remembered them all too well.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Noa choked back a sob as she collapsed to her knees in prayer, desperately hoping that her son was still alive and well.

She did not want to lose him too...

* * *

~.~

"Damn it!" Mark let out a growl of frustration as he slammed the payphone shut. Nanjo, meanwhile, had been keeping watch for anything suspicious. The two of them were at the city's edge, blocked off by an impenetrable wall of fog.

"Doctor's right. All the phones here are out. Can't even get the emergency guys. Hey Nanjo," Mark said as he stepped out of the phone booth. "You've got your cell phone, right?"

Nanjo frowned but nevertheless pulled out his cell phone from his front pocket. "Sure. But I doubt that you'll get better results…"

"Still worth a shot." Mark shrugged, swiping the phone from Nanjo. He dialled the emergency number and pressed the phone to his ear, only to hear nothing but a monotonous hiss from the other end.

"Graaaghhh… useless piece of junk!" Mark glared at the device, gripping it as tightly as he could. With a frustrated grunt, he hurled the cell phone with all his might like pitching at a baseball match, and the phone vanished into the thickness of the fog.

Nanjo roughly seized Mark by the collar and yanked so that he was face-to-face with him. "What the hell is wrong with you!? Would it kill you to show some respect for people's belongings?" he fumed.

"So what?" Mark retorted. "It's not like the damn thing's working in the first place! Besides, you can just buy more if you liked them so much!"

"What was that you –" Nanjo was ready to explode like an erupting volcano, but he was stopped by the clattering sound of something hitting the pavement not too far away.

The bickering duo instinctively turned to where the noise came from, but there was nothing there. Glancing down, however, Nanjo's cell phone was lying on the pavement.

"How did –" Nanjo muttered confusedly, letting go of Mark.

Just as dumbfounded, Mark inched towards the phone and picked it up, frowning. Strange… he swore that he threw it into the fog.

"One more time." He said, and ignoring Nanjo's protests, he chucked the phone back into the fog.

But just seconds later, the phone promptly flew right back at him. Mark, acting on reflex, caught the phone in his hands before it could smack him right in the face.

"What the hell?" Mark mumbled incredulously, before turning his attention back to the fog in front of him.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Mark braced himself and took in a deep breath, before charging headfirst into the fog.

"Hey, Inaba! Get back here, you idiot!" Nanjo's voice called out to him, but Mark ignored him and kept on running. He's not gonna let that pompous prick stop him from getting help.

Suddenly, he found himself on a collision course with Nanjo.

Panicking, Mark tried to skid to a halt, but it was too late. He slammed right into Nanjo with a violent thud, the two of them sent tumbling to the ground like a bowling ball striking a set of pins. Amidst the outbursts of pained shouts and angry curses, the tangled mess of flailing limbs finally rolled to a halt.

"Get off me, you ape!" Nanjo wheezed, pushing the added weight off him. Mark cried out as he landed flat on his butt as Nanjo staggered back to his feet, dusting himself. "Are you trying to get me killed!?" Nanjo yelled out.

"Hey! It's not like I did it on purpose! I just kept running straight ahead, and suddenly you appeared in front of me!" Mark protested as he clambered back up, massaging his butt which had endured most of the impact. Man, was he gonna feel that tomorrow…

"What?" Upon hearing this, Nanjo's anger faded at once, his face turning as pale as a sheet.

"I said," Mark began to repeat himself, but the words became stuck in his throat as a sense of realisation overcame him.

Nanjo continued. "If what you said is true, then the same thing must have happened with my phone when you threw it through the fog… Whatever goes through the fog will only be sent back right here." He said, his expression becoming grim.

"You mean –?" A pit formed in Mark's stomach, already realising what Nanjo was insinuating.

"We have no way of getting out of here."

* * *

~.~

As all the chaos unfolded, one man observed everything with amusement, like a sinister god tinkering with the lives of his mortal playthings below.

Takahisa Kandori gazed out from his office window. Much of the city has been completely engulfed in the fog. Though he had predicted for such an outcome, it exceeded his expectations.

It didn't come without problems, of course. The activation of the system had inadvertently triggered an earthquake and then without warning, his security system shut down. His employees began to panic, so Kandori ordered his security to restore order while his technicians worked to resolve the problem.

Kandori could not afford a slip-up now, not when there was much at stake. Failure was not an option.

He heard knocking on his office door. "It's Takeda, sir." The voice called out through the door.

"You may enter," Kandori said curtly, the smile on his face at once melting away.

The door opened, and his head of security entered. Takeda was from a local security firm owned by the Saeki Group. He was a brute; a body shaped like that of a gorilla's and, if Kandori were to be honest, the intelligence to match. Nevertheless, Takeda's credentials were satisfactory. He could obey orders, and his team displayed strict discipline when carrying out his demands.

And most of all, Kandori had discovered that he too had the potential. But in the aftermath of this afternoon's debacle, he might have to reconsider his head of security's capabilities.

"Report," Kandori asked, not even bothering a glance back.

Takeda complied and spoke. "My team have managed to evacuate everyone to the panic room. Our technicians have also managed to restore the security systems."

"Good. Have they rooted out the problem?"

Takeda nodded. "Yes, sir. They've reported that someone infiltrated our computer systems. Something about a trapdoor."

 _Of course._ Kandori mused to himself. Trapdoors essentially provided easy and untraceable access to the operating systems. They were deliberately added in by the very programmers who designed said system as a convenience, rather than a flaw. In emergencies like if the company were to be hacked or locked out of its system, service technicians would still have a way to access the system and restore it to normal. But the problem was that any programmer of sufficient skill could bypass the normal security procedures – and thus had access to the whole system.

Which also included the building's security system. With a simple command, one could shut down security doors, erase security footage, or they could just deactivate the whole damn thing.

That was the reason why Kandori had been particular about the nature of this project to be kept a secret. He had to ensure that any information about it was to be exclusive to his inner circle; not even President Saeki knew of its existence. Any information regarding the project – schematics, schedules, materials – were all secured in a private database and encrypted for added measure. Even an expert would have a hard time deciphering all that data. Thus, the database was fortunately not compromised.

The problem was that he had lost something – no, _someone_ – just as valuable.

His head engineer, Setsuko Sonomura, despite being sedated and kept under lock and key on his orders, had somehow escaped. No one had reported anything. Everyone had been preoccupied with the ongoing breach to notice.

"And Sonomura?" Kandori inquired.

"My men have checked the premises, sir. She's nowhere to be found."

"You don't say," Kandori remarked dryly. "You understand that you're to be held accountable for this debacle, Takeda?" He said as he rounded on the head of security, narrowing his eyes into a chilling glare.

"My apologies, sir!" Takeda bowed shamefully. "I will take full responsibility for Sonomura's escape."

"But now we have an even bigger problem," Kandori continued, "Sonomura could not have escaped on her own. Is there anyone among my staff unaccounted for?"

"Only one, sir. Wakaba Isshiki."

"I see…" came Kandori's response. He remembered looking through her credentials. A young graduate student from Tokyo University, just finishing her degrees in engineering and computing. She had displayed a lot of potential despite her young age, which was why Kandori had placed Isshiki under Sonomura's wing. Perhaps that was a mistake on his part…

"Your orders, sir?" Takeda asked, the unease in his voice obvious.

"Find them both, and bring them back alive," Kandori said, sitting back down into his chair and steepled his fingers. "I can't have my plans compromised because of my own head of security got sloppy. If it weren't for the fact that you still have your uses, you would be scrubbing the toilets. Go."

"Sir," Takeda replied. He bowed again and left the room without saying another word.

Once the door had shut behind him, Kandori let out a sigh as he reclined into his seat. He could not depend on anyone, it seems.

Opening the drawer of his desk, he reached in and took out a pair of metallic spheres, small enough to fit into the palm of his hand and began rotating them with his fingers. Baoding balls were said to help improve the dexterity of the fingers and restore the strength of the hand muscles – a gift from his 'business partners' in Taiwan.

"Daddy?" A soft voice called out from the corner of the room.

He turned around and saw a girl in a little black dress. "Aki?" he called back.

"You look pretty upset, daddy… Is something wrong?" Aki asked, a concerned look on her face as she approached him.

"It's nothing." Kandori simply gave a smile. He got back on his feet and paced over to the window to admire the cityscape, the culmination of an entire year of dedicated planning. "Come and take a look."

The little girl complied, approaching him closer so that she now stood by his side.

"We've finally managed to come so far," Kandori said, "and it is only a matter of time until I have what I long desired."

Aki looked at him, a soft innocence reflected in her eyes. "Don't worry, daddy. Aki will make your wish come true. All for you."

Kandori chuckled and patted the little girl on her head. "You really are a good girl, Aki."

Upon hearing his words, Aki simply giggled, nuzzling against her father's gentle touch.

* * *

~.~

Saeko Tatami was at her wit's end. Ever since the earthquake, everything was a total mess. The school was in a panic; the building had sustained some damage; the phone lines had stopped working so they can't call for help; some students are saying that monsters are swarming the streets.

The faculty was doing all they could to help, all except for Hanya. He simply stood aside to bark out orders like some stuffy bureaucrat. Vice-principal or not, Saeko would have given the old fart a piece of her mind, if not for the fact that anxious thoughts were all that was in her mind right now.

Four of her students – Yukino, Toudou, Nanjo and Inaba– were still unaccounted for. Saeko felt a pang of regret for suggesting them to visit the hospital. If she hadn't, they would have remained safe. If something were to happen to them, she would never forgive herself.

Right now, Saeko was making her way to the infirmary as fast as she could. Just a few minutes ago, she overheard a conversation about some students returning to the school, bringing an unconscious woman with them to the infirmary.

Upon reaching the door that read 'Infirmary', she reached out and pushed it open, perhaps a little too roughly, but that was not her main concern right now.

Four familiar faces, along with a bespectacled young woman with dark hair tied into a ponytail, were sitting down by the door.

"Saeko-sensei?" Yukino exclaimed in surprise at their homeroom teacher's sudden entrance, who was now leaning against the door frame, panting heavily. From the shocked expressions of her students, Saeko realised how she must have appeared to them: face flushed red, hair unkempt with loose strands standing out, clothes creased and drenched in sweat.

She sank to her knees like a leaf falling from a tree. "Thank goodness you're safe. I was so worried… after the earthquake happened and all that talk about monsters on the streets…" she managed to say, heaving a sigh of relief.

Yukino chuckled as she helped Saeko get back up to her feet. "I swear you always worry about us, Saeko-sensei."

"Honestly, I worry more about Inaba or Uesugi-kun." Saeko managed a joke, only to notice two faces missing. "Speaking of which, where are Inaba and Nanjo-kun? Weren't they with you?" She asked with worry.

Yukino sighed as she pressed a finger to her forehead. "They said they'll try and get help from outside the city. We tried to stop them, but they were persistent…so we let them go."

"Eh?" Saeko exclaimed. She could understand Inaba-kun, but someone as level-headed as Nanjo? She attempted to protest, but she heard Natsumi-san speak up from behind the curtain.

"Alright everyone, you can come over now." She peeled the curtain aside, revealing a middle-aged woman lying in bed. Despite appearing to be unconscious, she had an expression of pain on her face.

Saeko recognised the woman as Maki's mother. Back when Maki was still attending school, Mrs Sonomura would often pay a visit, inquiring about Maki's condition and performance.

Although Saeko knew that Mrs Sonomura sincerely loved her daughter, she wished that the woman would try and set aside her job every now and then. She understood that Mrs Sonomura was a single mother who had to pay for Maki's hospital bills, but Saeko knew from experience that a parent's love can sometimes be the best medicine.

"What happened to her?" Saeko exclaimed in shock.

"Yoshino-sensei, is Aunt Setsuko okay?" Toudou-kun asked the school nurse.

"She's fine." Yoshino-san calmly explained. "The dosage doesn't seem to be lethal. Though she seems to be exhausted, it is likely from overexertion fighting the drug's effects. All that she needs now is some rest."

Saeko frowned, annoyed that she was still locked out of the loop. " _Dosage?_ Can someone tell me what's going on?"

Everyone else looked at one another, as if unsure what to say until the bespectacled woman let out a sigh. "Guess I should start from the top." she began.

The woman, who gave her name as Wakaba Isshiki, explained everything that had happened over the past few hours.

"So SEBEC is behind all of this…" Saeko murmured as she leaned back in her seat by the door. Her head was swimming, though she wasn't sure whether it was from exhaustion or her mind simply still trying to process the new flow of information.

"You seem to be taking it well, all things considered." Isshiki-san quipped.

Saeko let out a sigh. "I mean, with all of reality turned upside down, I'd doubt anything else will take me by surprise anymore…"

SLAM!

Saeko let out a terrified shriek as the door next to her violently slid open, causing her to fall out of her chair and onto the floor, flat on her backside.

"Guys! Allthephonesareoutandwecantleavethecity!" A voice screamed incomprehensibly at the top of their lungs.

"Mark! Ever heard of knocking?" Yukino angrily snapped out at the figure that had just rushed in. "You could have given Saeko-sensei a heart attack!"

"Oh, crap! Sorry, sensei!" he gave an apologetic bow.

Still regaining her bearings, Saeko just waved her hand dismissively. "It's okay…I'm just glad the two of you are safe."

She shot them both a stern glare, folding her arms. "What I'm more upset about, young man, is the fact that you two went off on your own like that."

Inaba-kun rubbed the back of his head. "Geez, sensei… the way you're talking makes you sound like my mom…"

"Hey! I'm not that old!" Saeko protested indignantly. "Is it wrong for a teacher to care for her students' well-being?"

"I don't know… Hanya seems to be doing fine." Toudou-kun quipped.

"That's not the point, Toudou-kun…" Saeko shook her head.

But she turned to look back at Inaba and Nanjo-kun, giving a tired smile. "But at least the two of you seem to be getting along better."

The two of them look flabbergasted. They stared at each other before immediately averting their gaze with disgust as if they had just caught a whiff of something rotten.

Nanjo-kun huffed. "With this half-baked simpleton? I'd sooner be cast to the deepest pits of hell…"

"I didn't ask him to come with me. Not my fault…" Inaba-kun grumbled.

Isshiki-san raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Are these two always like this?"

"You have no idea?" Yukino sighed.

"Still, they seem to be making progress." Saeko mused.

" _Anyways_ ," Nanjo cleared his throat with a twinge of annoyance at their conversation, "we seem to be veering off-topic…"

Both Inaba and Nanjo started explaining what they had discovered. Not only were all the phones out, but the fog surrounding the city was trapping everyone inside. No matter how hard they tried crossing the fog, they somehow ended back to where they started.

"So that means… we've no way of getting out?" Toudou-kun asked in shock.

"I'm afraid so," Nanjo-kun replied grimly.

"What a disaster…" Saeko muttered, clearly bothered by the revelation.

But she quickly shook any reservations out of her head. Monsters or not, she's still a teacher with students to take care off. There's no way she's going to give up on them.

Saeko looked at everyone with a serious and determined stare. "Listen. No one outside of this room should ever know that we can't leave the city. We can't risk having a mass panic right now."

"Yes, Saeko-sensei." Yukino nodded in agreement, the rest of her classmates followed suit.

Then suddenly, the loud rumblings of someone's hungry stomach erased whatever tension in the room.

Everyone looked at one another in confusion when Mark began to stare at the floor sheepishly with a blush on his face. "Guess I haven't eaten much since lunch break…heh heh…" he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"And speaking of which…" Saeko said, cracking a smile. "You all should go to the cafeteria immediately. We've still got food in storage to last us for some time."

* * *

~.~

The five students made their way to the school cafeteria. Isshiki-san insisted that she'll stay by Aunt Setsuko's side, saying that she'll probably stick out like a sore thumb from the rest if she joins them.

The cafeteria was relatively empty, the exception being a few students who were loitering about. Yuka and Brown were there as well.

"Oh, you're back." Yuka had said nonchalantly as if discussing the weather. "I swore that you were going to be done in by a monster."

"Well sorry to disappoint you," Mark grumbled out, shooting her an annoyed glare.

"Aww…have more faith in us, Mark. You know we love you guys." Brown clutched his chest dramatically, feigning hurt in his voice.

The five of them collected their food: a bowl of leftover rice, vegetables and miso soup. It was not much, but it would last the school for a couple more days until they could collect more food supplies.

They found a secluded table at the corner of the cafeteria, away from the others. Just as Naoya was about to bring his tray over, he heard a girl's voice softly call out to him from behind. "Oh… Naoya-kun…"

He turned around and saw a meek-looking female student with twin braided pigtails, clutching a book tightly to her chest. It was Yuko Himeno, a close friend of Maki's when she was still in school. She works part-time to support her family, which wasn't too well-off from what Naoya remembered.

"Oh, Yuko-san? What is it?" Naoya politely asked.

The meek girl replied. "I heard from Yuka-san that you were visiting Maki-chan at the hospital this afternoon… I mean…given all that has happened today, I was wondering if she's okay."

Naoya hesitated. Though it wouldn't be right to keep the truth from Yuka-san, he didn't want to make the poor girl worry either.

He managed a smile, as calm as he could be. "Oh, she was quite happy when we visited her." _Not a lie,_ he thought to himself. "The nurse said she'll be fine as long as she takes her medication." He continued, remembering what Nurse Himiko had said. _Not a lie, either._

Yuko-san sighed in relief, prompting Naoya to relax a little. It seemed like she bought it. "Thank goodness… It's just that…" she said, glancing down at the book she was holding. "I borrowed a book from Maki-chan, and I was hoping I could return it to her."

"Oh, what book is it?" Naoya asked out of curiosity.

"Um…It's called 'Gates of Paradise'," Yuko-san answered.

Upon hearing her answer, something about the book began nagging at the back of Naoya's mind, as if he had heard of it before... Then he remembered! _The Gates of Paradise_ … that was the name of Maki's painting – the one that she had won in the school's 24th art competition. Naoya couldn't help but wonder… if they were both connected in some way. There was no way that it was just a mere coincidence.

"N-Naoya-kun?" The gentle voice of Yuko-san snapped him out of his thoughts. "Is something wrong?" she asked him, a concerned expression on her face.

Naoya shook his head, managing a polite smile. "It's nothing. Anyways, I'd better head to my table." He said, excusing himself.

"Okay… sorry for inconveniencing you." Yuko-san apologised, bowing slightly.

"Oh, no. It's no big deal." Naoya said reassuringly, before bidding Yuko-san goodbye. But even as he walked to his table to join the others, it still bothered him. "Or maybe I'm just overthinking things…" he mumbled to himself.

After finishing their dinner, the five of them mulled over the situation in silence. "So, what's the plan?" Naoya finally spoke up, voicing out the elephant in the room.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mark replied, a determined glare on his face. _Uh oh…_ Naoya thought. He didn't like it whenever Mark made that face. A face that was looking for a fight.

"We're going to march over to SEBEC, and force that Kandori bastard to return everything to normal." He said, fist in his palm.

"It's not as easy as you think, idiot." Nanjo flippantly argued.

Mark narrowed his eyes at Nanjo, clearly ticked off by the insult. "' Scuse me?"

"Use your head. The Saeki Group has its own security firm – a private army – that will no doubt be guarding whatever secrets SEBEC has. Charging straight in without a plan will only cause trouble." Nanjo explained, his tone now deadly serious.

"And besides," Naoya added. "We don't even know how Kandori is causing all of this. Perhaps it's best to wait for Aunt Setsuko to wake up –"

But he was cut off by the sound of Mark slamming his fist onto the table. "We're supposed to wait that long?!" he shouted angrily, standing up from his seat. "Come on! We've got nothing to worry about SEBEC or anything! We've got Per –"

"You said something 'bout SEBEC, right?" A guy's voice asked.

Mark froze, clamming up, but it was already too late. Numerous pairs of eyes were now pointing in their direction.

Nanjo was pinching the bridge of his nose, muttering "Oh, for heaven's sake" under his breath. Yukino was already covering her face with her palms. Elly, for some reason, was surprisingly calm about it. Naoya himself sank in his seat, subconsciously hoping that a spaceship would just beam him out of here.

Standing behind Mark was a student with neck-length bleached hair, uniform sloppily unbuttoned revealing his undershirt. It was one of their classmates named Daisaku.

"W-When did you start eavesdropping?" Mark nervously asked.

"Well… since you've started screaming to the high heavens." Daisaku casually replied, plucking his cigarette out from his mouth to let out a puff of smoke, prompting Yukino to wrinkle her nose in disgust though she didn't say anything to protest.

"What's this SEBEC you're talking about?" Another one of their classmates dressed in the school jersey, Hiroki, walked up to them.

"Didn't you know? They own that big building where that old mansion used to be." Daisaku gave an incredulous look at his friend.

Yuka, who had been absentmindedly snacking on a bag of potato chips, also joined in on the conversation. "I heard stories of that old place being haunted. When those guys over at SEBEC demolished the mansion to make way for their new building, it became haunted as well."

"Haunted? Maybe that has something to do with Chisato-san going missing a couple of months ago?"

"You serious? I thought she eloped with Naito-san? He disappeared too!"

"That's not it!" Another student retorted. "There are rumours that that company's been developing biological weapons for the government. And those monsters in the city are probably their leftover experiments gone amok!"

"Dude, isn't that ripped right out from Resident Evil?"

Soon, the entire cafeteria was filled with chatter as the students began to spread gossip amongst themselves. Naoya ran his hand through his unkempt hair in annoyance and let out a sigh. So much for keeping a low profile…

"Mwahahahaha…" came a deep, gravelly chuckle, which silenced the gossipy murmurs of everyone in the room.

It was a male shaggy-haired student, wearing with a red headband with a pentagram in the centre. His face was entirely a deathly pale due to the excessive amount of white body paint that had been applied. His glasses were shining in the light, completely obscuring his eyes.

Tsutomu Kurouri, nicknamed 'Devil Boy' by the rest of the school, is St. Hermelin's self-proclaimed 'master of the occult'. Obsessed with the supernatural and the like, he regarded himself as the go-to for any rumours of the sort.

"Haven't you heard the rumours? St. Hermelin has had a series of past incidents of students disappearing…" Kurouri continued to chuckle ominously. "And this case is no different –"

Before he could even finish, a flying juice box smacked Kurouri in the face, spraying orange juice all over him.

"Stop talking 'bout unpleasant stuff, ya creep!" Yuka angrily yelled, having been the one who threw the juice box. "We have to stay here for the night, y'know!"

But Kurouri's words had already taken effect on the rest of the students. The gossipy atmosphere soon devolved into full-blown pandemonium. Everyone was now in a frenzy.

"C-Cursed?! No way!"

"So that means we're not even safe here?!"

"No! I want to go home!"

"H-Hey! Calm down, guys!" Mark made a desperate attempt to reassure everyone, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the panicked shouts and cries.

BANG! The sound of a fist banging against a table, one that was far louder than Mark's, reverberated across the cafeteria. Everyone went silent as if time itself had been frozen.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" A voice bellowed out like an angry lion.

Everyone's gaze fell upon the one who banged on the table, secluded from the rest of the cafeteria. A lone male student with dark wavy hair that reached down past his neck was sitting there. His uniform shirt was completely buttoned open, revealing a surprisingly toned physique with noticeable pecs. He wore a small chain around his neck like a necklace. His appearance overall gave the vibes of a delinquent and not those harmless pranksters like Mark or Brown, but rather those types itching for a fight. Even from where he's sitting, Naoya could tell that the guy was freakishly tall.

The student looked up, revealing his face – with amber-coloured eyes emanating a chilling glare that would have put the monsters Naoya encountered to shame – and a distinctive x-shaped scar on his forehead.

He was from their class – a guy named Reiji Kido – who had only been transferred to St. Hermelin six months ago. Reiji rarely came for classes. Instead, he would go over to some secluded area of the school to brood. That is, if he decided to even go to school in the first place.

So why was he here now?

"There's no point bellyaching about stupid rumours right now," Reiji growled; teeth clenched. "So I suggest that you all shut the hell up, or this shit talk about monsters and curses won't be the only things you'll be worried about."

Without another word, the boy got up to his feet. Everyone else was quick to give him a wide berth as he marched out of the cafeteria, slamming the door shut behind him.

As soon as he was gone, the cafeteria soon broke out into murmurs. This time, however, all talk now revolved around the mystery boy that been the centre of attention only moments ago.

" _Oh my_ … that was the first time I've seen him speak like that." Elly mused. "Normally, he doesn't talk at all."

"He's scary… but he's kinda hot, too." A female student whispered not too softly.

Yuka rolled her eyes, taking out a new juice box. "Oh, give it a rest. These bad-boy types are so cliché nowadays."

"Eh? But he seems so strong and masculine… so cool." Another sighed dreamily.

A third girl chimed in. "Not to mention that romantic gave the vibes of air of mystery he has…Oooh!" she squealed like a fangirl attending her favourite rock star's concert.

Brown let out a snort, folding his arms with an unimpressed look on his face. "Big deal! I bet he's just talking big just so he wouldn't look like he's scared in front of everyone." He then jabbed a thumb at himself, puffing his chest out confidently. "The real big-shot is yours truly, always ready with a smile on his face! Compared to that little pussy-cat, I'm a T-Rex, the greatest predator to ever walk the earth!"

"Tiny appendages, oversized mouth to compensate, doomed to extinction? Yeah, that sounds about right." Yuka deadpanned, sipping her juice box with a loud slurp.

"Hey! I resent that!"

While the two began arguing, Naoya and the rest continued their own quiet discussion.

"Geez, look at those two go at it…" Mark mumbled. "You think they have Personas too?"

Nanjo shook his head. "I'd doubt it. But that's not what important right now. You should watch your mouth next time. We were lucky that commotion saved us." He shot Mark a disapproving glare.

" _Truly._ If word of Personas were to spread, I don't know what would happen. As Saeko-sensei said, we should keep this a secret from the others." Elly agreed.

"Fine…" Mark grumbled. "As if things could get any worse…"

Suddenly, the door slammed open. "What is all the commotion about!?" a throaty voice that sounded like something that just died, cried out.

Vice-principal Hanya had entered the cafeteria, brandishing a blackboard ruler. He looked at the students with a glare as if they had just murdered someone. "If you're done eating, you should be going to sleep! In times of crises, one's presence of mind –"

"Aaaand that reminds me," Naoya promptly got up from his seat. "I gotta go pack up some food for Isshiki-san."

"Hey, Naoya! Wait for us!" Mark whispered.

Wasting no time, Naoya quickly packed up some of the remaining leftovers into one of the plastic food containers. Hanya, still too busy rambling on like a broken record, did not notice five figures sneaking out the back door of the cafeteria.

As Naoya shut the door behind him, he could still hear the old toad through the walls. "And who's been smoking tobacco!? You bunch of no-good slackers ought to be ashamed of yourself, doing something irresponsible at a time like this when you're supposed to be taking good care of your body! When I was your age –"

"Boy, am I glad to be out of there," Mark said.

"Tch…" Yukino made a noise of disgust. "I don't know how he managed to become vice-principal in the first place."

"Maybe being an asshole was part of the job description." Naoya shrugged, stifling a yawn.

"Continuing from where we left off…" Nanjo interjected, impatience lacing his tone. "There's no doubt that we will have ourselves a battle if we go charging into SEBEC. I'd suggest that we prepare ourselves beforehand."

He then narrowed his gaze at Mark specifically. "Understand?"

Mark glared back at Nanjo, but he let out a sigh. "Got it…" he mumbled, tucking his hands into his pockets.

Even as everyone came to an agreement, however, the feeling of unease in Naoya's mind remained ever-present. He wondered just exactly what they were all getting themselves into…

He shook those uncertainties out of his head. For now, he'd have to wait until Aunt Setsuko has recovered enough to provide some much-needed answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I'm done with Chapter 4! It took me a lot longer than I thought, though most of it was due to trying to structure all of this properly. This Chapter had the most changes: I first thought of dividing the second half of this chapter into Chapter 5, but I decided to put them together. The external POV of the police officer and Naoya's mother were also later additions, cause it came to my mind that it wasn't really addressed what happened to the other civilians during this incident. And lastly, upon further research I discovered that not all of Mikage-Cho was trapped, only part of it.
> 
> Now for the Chapter itself, there are a lot of technical stuff that can seem boring for some, but I felt like it's justified since we see them from the perspective of people who had to study this sort of thing. And we've got ourselves a familiar face from Persona 3.
> 
> And we see the perspective of our Big Bad Kandori himself. While Kandori is one of my favorite Persona villains alongside Adachi, I felt that he was sorely underdeveloped as a villain in the original game. He's a simple villain who wants more power, which is fine, but I felt like his personality until Eternal Punishment lacked much depth. He will have more scenes that show his POV.
> 
> We also see in this chapter the first appearance of Reji Kido. It might be a long while until our heroes head to SEBEC, but there will be some stuff in-between.
> 
> Anyways, I wish you all a Happy New Year! I may be busy in the near future with school so the next chapter might take a while.

**Author's Note:**

> Now, how to challenge yourself as a FanFic writer? How about you write your first big multi-chapter story for realsies? No? How about making it your first big novelisation project? No? How about making it about a game that is at best a cult classic and at worst an obscurity because even fans of the franchise are turned off by because of its aged gameplay? And the kicker? Why don't I do it just around the start my second year of University? What could possibly go wrong?
> 
> In all seriousness, I felt like the first Persona game was an underrated classic. While its gameplay was certainly a product of its time, I grew attached to the story and its characters instead. And with no hopes of a potential remake in sight, I felt like this could be the best way for me to show my appreciation towards this game.
> 
> For those who are familiar with the first Persona game, though, you'll probably find me treading on a lot of familiar ground. However, not only will I be simply recapping the events of the game, but I will be incorporating both the SEBEC and Snow Queen storylines together because Persona 2 implies that both events took place. Of course, I would be adding my own twists of certain parts of the story as well.
> 
> My main sources/inspirations would be the game itself, the manga adaptation by Shinshu Ueda (a recommended read), and of course the Persona Drama CDs. Feedback is welcome, so feel free to post your reviews!
> 
> PS: I'll probably emphasise this in later chapters as well, but for Elly, italics will be used in her dialogues whenever she'll speak an English word. The problem is that I'll do the same thing with the characters' thoughts.


End file.
